The Stars in Her Eyes
by ChronoLink93
Summary: [Rockstar Adrien and Jazz singer Marinette AU] He was a broken rocker saved one night from making the dumbest decision in his life. She was a humble Jazz singer who pulled a depressed boy away from a subway platform; hiding more sadness than anyone really knew. He looked for her for six years and almost gave up until a poster caught his attention.
1. Just One More Step

Adrien Agreste was raised to be the perfect boy. 'You're an Agreste, this much is expected of you.' He heard those words everyday, sometimes multiple times a day, from his father. His life had been perfectly planned out for him from the day he was born until the day he died. And he _hated_ it. There was nothing he wanted to do more than be able to actually make one decision for himself; to be able to choose where he went in life instead of mindlessly following his father's orders. But he was always too timid to actually do anything about it.

Despite every fiber in his being telling him, yelling at him, that he needed to take hold of his life he never did. Instead he opted for keeping his father happy because it made his life easier. Sure he could never make Gabriel Agreste perfectly happy but it was better to sate the Agreste family head than anger him. So that's what he did, he played the perfect son, until he finally snapped.

Two years into university and Adrien had finally had enough of his father's demands. He was tired of the unreachable expectations, the verbal abuse whenever he failed, never having a person in his life who actually loved him, of feeling like he was never even wanted. It wasn't pretty nor was it as glorious as the blond always imagined telling off his father would be. The argument that had erupted between them was vicious, raw, and earth shattering and it was over something that, in hindsight, was terribly insignificant. But it was the straw that finally broke the camel's back, as the saying goes.

"Third place in your class?" Gabriel has asked as he sat at his desk, his voice as cold as ever. "What, did you spend your time partying instead of studying?" He asked as he glanced up from his papers to stare blankly at his son. "What? No! I worked my ass off in that class! There were nights I never slept just to get some extra studying done!" Adrien shouted back. Instantly he regretted that decision as he watched the harsh glare settle over the elder's features. "Watch your mouth, boy." Gabriel growled out in a warning. The younger opened his mouth to apologize but he paused. Why should he? Why should he deal with any of this? What was honestly stopping him from just walking away and never coming back?

"No, you know what? Fuck this. Nothing I do will ever make you happy!" Adrien yelled, slamming his hands down on his father's desk. "I do _everything_ that you ask of me witho-" THWACK! The blond stumbled backwards, cradling his cheek with his right hand. "You dare speak to me that way?! After everything I've done for you?!" Gabriel roared, his hand still hovering next to him after backhanding his son. "Everything you've done for me?! Ever since mom died you've done _nothing._ " Adrien shot back, voice shaking as tears threatened to spill from his eyes. "Look at the life I've given you! There are children who would kill to live the life you do!" yelled Gabriel.

"Then they can have it! I'd give everything to them just to have a father that loved me!" Adrien cried out, stunning his father into silence. "I'm done with this. Push your agenda on someone else." The blond muttered out before turning around to leave the office. No, to leave the house. "Adrien! Get back here! If you walk out now you'll never be allowed back!" Gabriel shouted out after him but the blond was gone.

That night he had wandered through Paris aimlessly as he was pelted with rain during a thunderstorm. He didn't care about his clothes being soaked to the bone or catching a cold or just anything. He felt hollow and lifeless, like a shell of what once was a human. The only thing he felt was the pain in his heart and it was crippling. He didn't know how long he was out there, long enough for his phone to die after ignoring the endless calls and text messages from his father's PA, Nathalie. But that was just another thing he didn't care about.

Eventually he found himself standing on the platform in one of the many metro stations in Paris. Trains would come and go but he never got on them instead just standing there like a statue. The automated voice system chimed out through the almost barren station. "Attention travelers. The next train will not be stopping at this station. Please be sure to stand safely behind the yellow line." It warned. Adrien felt his feet move forward. This would stop the pain, right?

Another step forward. It's not like his father would miss him. Another step. He had just basically been disowned, and there was no one else to care for him. Another step. He was alone. He was standing right at the edge of the platform with his toes hanging off the edge. Yeah, this was the best thing he could do now. The train's horn started blaring as it traveled down the tracks and he could feel the ground start to rumble beneath him. Just one more step.

As he lifted his leg to drop off the platform he felt something yank at the collar of his shirt, pulling him backwards and safely away from the train. He fell backwards on top of whoever it was that just saved him from being incredibly stupid. Was it a woman's voice he heard groaning underneath him? Quickly he made his way off her, rolling onto his hands and knees to look at whoever his savior was and he froze.

He looked down into the most beautiful shade of blue he'd ever seen before in his life. It was like someone captured a night sky full of stars only to place them in this mysterious woman's eyes. He was drowning in their endless depths as they looked back at him full of worry and concern. Concern for him. He'd never seen anyone look at him that way before, so that's what it looked like? Slowly he took in the rest of her; pale skin, cute pink freckles, a rounded nose and plump lips that formed a frown. Her gentle and round features were framed by raven hair that was falling somewhat out of her pigtails although he swore there was a blue sheen glittering throughout those strands. Her words pulled him out of his daze.

"Hey...are you alright?" She asked him, her voice acting as the fingers of a harpist plucking at the strings of his heart. It was a sweet melody that seemed to reignite the warmth his body once lacked. "I...I don't know…" He muttered, looking down from her and towards his hands. "Probably not…" He added, voice barely just a whisper. Rocking back to sit on the heels of his feet the girl stood up to brush herself off. Then suddenly her hand was in his face, snapping him out of his thoughts to look up at her. Her smile was breathtaking.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She offered softly. "Only if you want to, I won't force you to." He took her hand, it felt so small in his own but it was just as soft and as smooth as her skin looked. When he got to his feet he almost didn't want to let it go, but he knew he had to, so reluctantly he pulled his hand back to shove it in his pocket. He wanted to answer her but his voice was gone and he couldn't find it. He watched her purse her lips together as they stood there silently before she spoke up again. "At least let me get you home safely?" She asked and he quickly shook his head.

"Ah, okay. Do you have somewhere else you can stay?" She suggested. Why did she want to help him so much? They didn't know each other, did they? He didn't recognize her from university so that wasn't it and despite how beautiful she was he didn't see her during his work as a model either. So then...why? Was she really just this kind? "I...I think I have a friend...who might take me in." He managed to say as he found his voice finally. She seemed to let out a breath of relief at his words. "I'll take you to them, then." She said calmly. He was hesitant at first because there was no reason for her to stay with him but it was clear she wasn't going to budge on this so he nodded before pulling out his phone and...right, it was dead.

"Uhm...can I borrow your phone? Mine is dead…" He asked quietly. She hummed out a quick "Mhmm!" before pulling out her phone and handing it to him. For the first time that night he smiled though it was a very small one; of course her phone was in a pink case and it was decorated with small ladybugs. He dialed the number to the only person he could call his friend, Nino, and when he picked briefly explained there was another fight, that it was bad, and that he needed a place to stay for a while. Nino had a brief idea of Adrien's home life but they had only known each other for maybe a year after they met in a class at college. Nino was more than willing to help him out, even offering to pick him up.

He peeked over at the girl who was still standing so close to him. Part of him wanted to stay with her. She had just saved his life and this feeling he had around her...he didn't want it to go away. But she probably had other things she had to do; things more important than walk with him halfway across the city. "Yeah, that'd be great." He answered before telling Nino where he was. He nodded his head when Nino explained that he'll be there soon before hanging up.

The blond handed the phone back over to the girl with a quick thank you. "He said he'd pick me up. So...you don't have to stay." He droned out. God he wished he didn't sound so dead but he couldn't help it. No matter how warm this girl made him feel the memory of his fight with his father was still so fresh on his mind. "Nonsense!" She said with a wide smile. It sort of caught him off guard. "I'll just sit with you until he get's here. It's not a problem, I have nothing important going on tonight."

Adrien blinked at her a few times. Was she even real or was she just a figment of his imagination? There was no way someone _this_ happy existed. He nodded his head lightly before following her up the stairs to the street where she opened up her umbrella for the both of them to stand under. There was a bench near the station that they sat on after she tried to wipe off as much of the water as she could. From there it was nothing but silence between them and honestly Adrien was perfectly okay with it. He wasn't to sure if he really wanted to talk about anything yet and he knew he'd already have to explain things even more to Nino. Just the thought of doing that twice exhausted him. So he was very thankful to just sit quietly with her instead of sitting quietly alone. Thankful...did he thank her yet?

"Thank you...by the way." He said suddenly. He must have startled her because she whipped her head around quickly. "Hrmm?" She asked, looking at him wide eyed. "Thank you for...for saving me back there. I almost did something really stupid and...thank you." He breathed out, attempting to give her the most grateful smile he could no matter how broken it may have looked. She returned it warmly and gently placed her free hand on his shoulder. "Don't mention it. I can understand that sometimes life may seem too hard to handle but…" She trailed off for a moment like she was trying to find her words. "But the night is always darkest before the dawn. Whatever that's going on you can get through it and you'll come out stronger on the other side. I promise."

Adrien didn't know why but he felt so reassured by her words, by her promise that everything would get better. He actually believed her. He nodded meekly at her, that broken smile still on his lips, when a car horn honked at them. They both spun their heads around to see Nino parked next to the curb waving at them through his car window. Adrien turned his head to look back at her and he suddenly felt sad for having to leave her. He never wanted to leave her.

"I hope you feel better." She said sweetly, looking back at him. Once again he started to get lost in those dazzling blue eyes and he lost his voice again. He cleared his throat, standing up with a small nod. "Y-yeah, thank you." He said before running off to Nino's car and getting inside. Adrien looked back at her once he had gotten into the passenger seat and saw that she was still standing there staring at him. She raised up her hand to wave at him and he returned it before Nino drove off.

"Who was that?" Nino asked once they had pulled away from the station. "She saved my life…" He breathed out as he stared up to the night sky. Even with the city lights drowning out most of the stars he could still see a small cluster that reminded him of the girl. And that's when it hit him. He didn't ask for her name.

 **-oOo-**

Years past since that night but Adrien never forgot about it. He was 26 now and lived on his own in a pretty spacious apartment smack dab in the middle of Paris' nightlife. No longer was he a heartthrob model, instead he spent most of his time playing a guitar, writing lyrics, and providing vocals for a band he had formed with Nino and a few other friends from college. He had managed to finish going to school, applying for financial aid since his father cut him off from everything, but changed his major to music theory. His band wasn't incredibly famous, they weren't signed to a record label, but they were popular enough to occasionally tour through Europe and they made enough money off of their gigs and selling their music plus some merch online to maintain a decent way of living.

He had also drastically changed up his look. Maybe it was because he had spent so long looking perfect for his dad or just that he never had the freedom to wear what he wanted but stayed as far away as possible from designer clothes or even colors. Now it nothing but black with the style of his clothes changing depending on the weather or just how he felt. After experimenting with a few hairstyles of the years he settled for just a shaggy, tousled look that long enough to tie up into a small pony tail whenever it annoyed him. Sure he'd still get some bangs in his face but they were easy to brush back.

Adrien was pretty happy with the turnout, for the most part, but on those nights that he couldn't sleep and he was left alone with his thoughts he sometimes felt like it wasn't enough. There was still something missing, like he still felt empty, and he couldn't figure it out what it was. Okay, that was a lie, he knew exactly what it was but he'd practically given up on finding it. Not it, her.

Ever since that night he'd been searching for the girl he started calling Ladybug, because of the decoration on her phone case. But it was like she vanished off the face of the earth ever since she pulled him back from the train platform. Maybe she was just a figment of his imagination or a guardian angel? When he couldn't find her after a few years of searching he had tried to maybe rekindle that feeling he'd felt with her in other women but it never worked. One time he thought he'd gotten close but she ended up just cheating on him so yeah, he was to the point of just giving up on the idea of love.

There was a knock on the door that pulled Adrien out of the lull he'd been in since he got to his dressing room. "Yeah?" He called out and Nino poked his head through the door. "Hey, bro, we're on in five." His friend said and the blond nodded. For this show he was wearing a loose fitting, slightly torn up long sleeve shirt over tattered jeans and worn boots. Over his eyes he smeared black make up in a sort of mask shape, something all the members did to help them stand out, and around his neck was a leather choker with a golden bell attached to it. He went by the stage name Chat Noir, not wanting to have his real name tied to the band on the off chance they did make it big he sure as hell didn't want his father's name to gather any more fame. The bastard didn't deserve it.

To help play this part he'd usually also wear a belt that made him look like he had a tail along with some cat ears pinned to his hair like tonight. He grabbed his guitar from the corner it rested in and followed after Nino backstage to meet up with the rest of the band. Five minutes came and went, then they were walking out on stage raising their hands up to greet the throng of fans gathered at the venue.

Playing on stage or in their recording studio was one of the few times that Adrien really felt like he was fully alive again. He could completely lose himself in the music he was playing and felt like everything he struggled to say was just set free the moment his fingers touched a guitar string. It was better playing live, though, because he could feed off the energy of the crowd. He'd pour his heart out with the lyrics he belted out and his soul was sent flying with every chord he played and the crowd would throw it back at him tenfold. It was exhilarating, intoxicating even, and it served as the perfect distraction from the empty void he felt most of the time.

This night was no different. He'd run across the stage and jump of speakers, jump around with his bandmates, call out to the crowd, the whole shebang. Anything and everything he could to rile up the crowd further because that's what he needed tonight of all nights. Six years ago on this night he walked out of his perfect like. Six years ago he almost killed himself. And six years ago he was saved by the woman of his dreams but never asked for her name. So he needed to play like his life depended on it so he couldn't think about anything else than the music.

So when he looked out into the crowded room full to point of bursting with people the last thing he expected to see was stars staring back at him.

There was no way that was her, was it? He could still see her eyes in his dreams but when the band's set was over he hopped off the stage to try and find her. He searched the whole building up and down but she was gone. It didn't help that the whole time he looked for her he was being stopped by fans wanting his autograph or a picture or something. Couldn't they tell he was on a mission? He looked until most of the crowd went home and was left standing outside, guitar in hand, staring up at the sky, and glaring at it. It was taunting him. A constant reminder of the love that he could of had but lost because he was too dumb to not ask for a simple name.

"I'm such a fucking idiot." He muttered, walking off down the street. He didn't bother telling his band that he was leaving, if they needed him they'd call him. They were sort of used to him just randomly disappearing anyway. In a similar fashion to the night six years ago he was back to wandering Paris and although he was still very much depressed he wasn't as suicidal as he was back then. He considered going to a bar but despite his rocker image he didn't really have a taste for alcohol. So instead he just kept wandering until the very wee hours of the morning before finally deciding that he should probably head back home.

He was stopped by a poster that was taped up to a lamp post near his apartment. It wasn't there when he left that morning. Carefully he peeled it off the lamp post to read it over. It was a poster for a jazz singer? She was performing at some club a few blocks down from where he lived. As his eyes scanned the picture of the woman it depicted he felt a sense of longing. She had beautifully pale skin with cute pink freckles, a rounded nose and plump lips that were pulled up into a gentle smile. Why did that description sound familiar? He was a bit disheartened to see that in the image her eyes were closed. He raised a brow as he looked over the singer's name. Ladybug? The universe was clearly playing some sick prank on him. When was the show? Two nights from now? He stuffed the small poster into his pocket and continued on to his apartment.

Maybe he'd check it out. It was wishful thinking, he knew that, but it was something and that was better than nothing.

* * *

 **A/N:** And I'm back with some angsty angst. The next chapter will be Marinette's introduction and then we can start getting into the juicy bits. So stay tuned! XOXO


	2. Everything is Fine, I Promise

'You can do anything you set your mind to, you just have to believe in yourself.' Tom and Sabine repeated those words like a mantra to their daughter. Before she even knew what they were saying they encouraged her on in anything and everything. When she was in elementary school it was ballet, when she hit her awkward preteen years it was piano (though she never stopped playing), and when she was in highschool it was fashion design. No matter her passions, however in flux they may be, they stood behind her proudly to egg her on. All they cared about in the world was her happiness and they did everything they could do to give that to her despite their humble means. Marinette loved them and they loved her; they were a perfect family, in her mind.

Her fondest memories with her parents were always at the old bakery. Whenever she was feeling down they'd pull her into the kitchen so she could help prepare some of the pastries for that morning. They wouldn't always talk but they didn't have to. Something about spending time with her father making croissants or decorating a tower of cupcakes with her mother always put her mind at ease. Whenever she needed them they were there for her and they always had the perfect way to make her feel better.

Then there was her childhood friend, Alya. She was an information maniac always trying to get the latest bit of juicy information for an article on her blog. Alya was a driven, strong willed woman who always pushed Marinette to test her boundaries. She was the reason Marinette was able to gather up the courage to ask her first school crush out, and the subsequent ones after that. Whenever Marinette struggled with school or boys or anything else a teenager struggled with Alya was her closest confidant and dearest friend.

They stuck together even after high school, sharing a room together at the same university because they were just that inseparable. It was amazing and wonderful and happy. So far she had lead a good life and was on her way to even making it a fulfilling one.

There was one night, when she was 20, she was on her way back to her dorm after spending the day visiting her parents. It had been a while since she had last seen them since final exams took over her life. Once they were all over she was more than happy to run home to her parent's delicious baked goods. Now that she was standing on the metro platform her stomach felt stuffed to the brim. Too much quiche.

When she had made her way down into the station she had noticed that there weren't very many people there. It made sense, it was pretty late at night. But...there was one guy who really stood out to her. She was staring at his back so she couldn't see his face but just by his posture she could tell that something was wrong. That plus the fact that in the middle of a thunderstorm he didn't have an umbrella or a jacket; the poor guy looked soaked to the bone. "Attention travelers. The next train will not be stopping at this station. Please be sure to stand safely behind the yellow line." The automated voice system rang out in a warning.

Marinette was about to start distracting herself on her phone but the lonely man's movement caught her attention. Did he step closer towards the rails? She watched him carefully as his feet seemed to drag against the smooth tile beneath them. He was walking closer to the rails. Didn't he hear the announcement? The train wasn't going to stop.

"Sir?" She called out quietly, doubting that he even heard her. The bluenette's eyes widened as he continued to step closer and closer until he was right at the edge of the platform. She could hear the train start blaring it's horn and that's when it hit her. He was going to jump in front of the train! Her body moved before her brain could figure out what she was doing and she grabbed the man by the back of his shirt to pull him away from the train. In the process she lost her footing and fell backward towards the ground which just pulled him down with her.

Marinette let out a low groan as she hit the tile and he collapsed on top of her. "Oowwww…" She grumbled out as he rolled off of her. That could've gone better but she still accomplished her goal. Gradually she opened up her eyes to look at the man she just saved and she felt her breath catch as she stared up into a pair of empty, iridescent emeralds. With one look all of the pain and anguish this stranger was feeling washed over her as their eyes remained locked with one another's. He looked so lonely with his blond hair soaked, sticking to his face and his brows creased slightly.

She didn't know what it was about him but suddenly she was so worried about him, she wanted to help and try to fix whatever it was that was wrong with him. She wanted to erase his loneliness, to erase his sadness because she had a feeling his smile would be gorgeous. "Hey...are you alright?" She asked him softly. She wanted to put a hand on his shoulder but she had no idea how he'd react to that. She took the time to really take in the rest of his features. He was really handsome with a sharp jawline, flawless skin although one cheek looked a little redder than it should have been, pronounced cheekbones, slim nose, and thin lips.

"I...I don't know…" His voice sounded just as broken as he looked. "Probably not…" She felt her heart start sinking. She didn't even know this guy but she wanted to just wrap her arms around him and tell him that everything was going to be fine. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair while reassuring him that she'd take care of him. He rocked back so sit on the heels of his feet so she took the chance to stand up and brushed herself off. Then she held her hand out to him, something she guessed he wasn't expecting because he seemed to snap his head up surprised. She offered him a warm smile hoping that maybe she could try and help him somehow.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Marinette asked softly. "Only if you want to, I won't force you too." She added a bit quickly. She knew that sharing your deep personal secrets with a stranger probably seemed weird or out of the ordinary but she just wanted to help. His hand seemed to engulf hers but it wasn't as rough as she was expecting nor were there any callouses. After helping him to his feet there was moment where she didn't want to let go and it almost felt like he didn't want to either. It faded quickly as he dropped her hand to shove it into his pants pocket. Maybe she imagined that feeling?

The two of them stood there silently just staring at each other as she waited for some kind of response to her question. Her lips pursed together slightly as she figured his silence was just his way of saying no to that idea. "At least let me get you home safely?" Marinette asked him. After watching him almost kill himself she certainly wasn't going to leave him alone so that he could try again. But when he started to shake his head quickly, maybe even a little _too_ fast, she realized that wasn't the best idea. She assumed that was where his problem originated from.

"Ah, okay. Do you have somewhere else you can stay?" He had to have one friend, hopefully. If not then maybe he could stay with her for the night? Obviously on her couch or something, clearly, they just met each other. All she knew was that she didn't want him to be alone, especially now when he seemed to be at rock bottom. She watched the micro expressions on his face as he stared at her like he was trying to figure it out. Why did the idea that she wanted to help him look so foreign to him? What kind of life did someone have to lead that they start to think people being kind was strange?

"I...I think I have a friend...who might take me in." He said after a moment and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. So he does have someone he can turn to, good. "I'll take you to them, then." She said happily. Yeah she still was not going to let him go anyway alone. He hesitated for a moment but didn't protest her walking him anywhere so he moved to pull out his phone. He glared at it for a moment before putting it back in his pocket. "Uhm...can I borrow your phone? Mine is dead…" He asked quietly. She beamed up at him. "Mhmm!"

Quickly she dug through her purse to pull her phone out and hand it to him. He took a moment to look at her phone and...smiled? What about her phone made him happy? She was glad he was smiling, even if it was really small, but why at her phone? She looked down at it to look over her phone case. It was probably the ladybugs she guessed but she was glad he seemed to be cheering up some. Marinette did her best to not to eavesdrop on the man as he called his friend.

She picked up something about there being a really bad fight but he didn't go into any detail. His home life must be terrible she assumed. She was too distracted in trying to not pay attention so she didn't noticed when he paused to look at her. Before she knew it his phone call was over and he was handing her phone back to her. "He said he'd pick me up. So...you don't have to stay." He droned out. Just listening to how void of any real emotion his voice was made her chest hurt. What happened to him?

"Nonsense!" She said with a wide smile. "I'll just sit with you until he get's here. It's not a problem, I have nothing important going on tonight." Which was true. The only thing she had 'planned' was watch a movie with Alya but that could wait for as long as it had to. She wanted to spend this time with him because he needed it. She watched as he blinked at her a few times like he was surprised she wanted to stay with him. He needed more friends. Slowly he nodded as if he was agreeing to let her stay and she nodded back before turning around to walk upstairs and out of the station, checking to make sure he was following.

When they made it outside she opened up her umbrella for the both of them to stand over, a gesture he seemed grateful for, and walked over towards a bench. She leaned forward to wipe off as much of the water that had accumulated on its surface before sitting down next to him. From that point they were silent but she didn't feel like it was awkward. To her she was sort of trying to make him feel better by just surrounding him in a warm, welcoming aura. It was clear that whatever was troubling he didn't want to talk about so she just tried to make him as comfortable in her presence as she possibly could. It looked like it was working because his shoulders seemed to relax some and his expression softened.

"Thank you...by the way." He said suddenly. His voice was the last thing she expected to hear so she spun her head around to look at him. "Hrmm?" was all she could manage. "Thank you for...for saving me back there. I almost did something really stupid and...thank you." He breathed out before offering her a smile. She could tell that he was trying his best to show just how appreciative he was but there was still a heavy sadness in his eyes. It was here she decided that it would probably be okay if she reached out to him so she lifted her free hand up to rest on his shoulder.

"Don't mention it. I can understand that sometimes life may seem too hard to handle but…" She trailed off for a moment like she was trying to find her words. "But the night is always darkest before the dawn. Whatever that's going on you can get through it and you'll come out stronger on the other side. I promise." There was a shift in his eyes as she spoke to him, something like a small spark of hope that she may have caused. He nodded his head meekly at her and she smiled slightly.

The sound of a car horn honking snapped her out of the staring fit she was falling into. She could look into those endless pools of green for hours if she wasn't careful. Marinette whipped her head around to see another man, around the same age as the one sitting next to her, but with darker skin and she thought she could see glasses. She looked back at the blond sitting next to her and it seemed like he hesitated? She wasn't sure though. "I hope you feel better." She said sweetly. He cleared his throat, standing up with a small nod. "Y-yeah, thank you."

With that he ran off to the car trying not to get any wetter than he already was. She stood up to watch him run off and felt a small pang in her chest at watching him leave. When he got in the car he looked back at her so Marinette brought up her hand to wave at him. He waved back before the car pulled away from the curb to leave her alone on the sidewalk.

"Damn…" She muttered as a thought came to mind. "I didn't ask for his name…"

 **-oOo-**

Life for Marinette over the last six years started just as nice, peaceful, and wonderful as the entirety of it had been before it very gradually started to spiral downwards. She finished university ready to enter the fashion world and become the next top designer; having a very promising internship lined up that would give her a perfect foothold to make a name for herself. During those last two years she tried to find that amazingly handsome boy with the saddest green eyes she'd ever seen but to no avail. Over the years she started calling him Minou because something about that vulnerable look made him seem like a kitten so it stuck.

At first Alya was ever so supportive in trying to find him but after the first year she seemed skeptical that he even existed. And when they graduated college she was ready for Marinette to move on. "You can't just keep waiting for some guy that you only met once whose name you don't even know, Marinette." The brunette reasoned. "There are plenty of other guys out there who are just as good for you, if not better! Just go on this one date for me, please?" Alya begged her friend.

The bluenette let out a defeated sigh. Alya was right, she should probably move on from the guy if she hasn't seen him in two years. But she felt like that was wrong of her to do, like she'd be cheating herself out of something important. It was only one date though...and she didn't have to get serious with anyone if she didn't want to. Keep her options open, in a sense, in case she ever did run into him again. "Alright, alright, but I'm not making any promises about going a second one." She said much to her friend's delight.

When Marinette had arrived at the restaurant she was surprised at the man she was meeting. He was tall with pale blond hair combed back neatly around his triangular face and icy gray eyes. He introduced himself as Félix Astruc and he was quite the gentleman. She didn't expect to enjoy herself as much as she did during dinner but he was very charming. They spent most of the time just talking about anything and everything, though he seemed to lose interest when she started talking about her passion for fashion.

When the night was over she found herself agreeing to see him again; news Alya was over joyous to hear. Her second date with Félix went just as perfectly as the first, as did the third, the fourth, the fifth, and so one. Before she knew it they had been dating for almost a year and she was moving in with him. She was still working on getting her career started as a fashion designer but after hearing her sing to herself one day as she worked over a dress Félix started to push her on a new path.

He told her that she had the voice of an angel, that she should share her voice with the world instead of her designs. It was flattering but she had spent so much time devoted to being a designer the idea of just dropping it to chase a random hobby seemed crazy. But he was rather persuasive, that Félix. Not just about wanting her to change her career path, though, but about changing a lot of things in her. Without noticing it he changed how she dressed, how she acted, the things she took interest in, the people she kept company with.

At one time she couldn't go a day without talking to Alya or her parents suddenly she felt alienated from all of them. It was sort of surreal that all of this had happened without her being fully aware of it all. And then it happened. It was their two year anniversary and they had been sharing a wonderful meal when Félix was on one knee before her presenting a diamond ring. He was proposing to her. She had stared at it for a long while because when had all of this happened? What happened to her telling herself she'd never get serious with someone because she wanted to meet her Minou once more?

She still hadn't seen him since that night in the Metro station. Maybe that was a sign that there wasn't supposed to be anything between them? Maybe… She told Félix yes and a few months later she was Mrs. Astruc. For some unshakeable reason the last name didn't fit to her, but there was no going back now. She had vowed to love him in sickness and in health til death do them apart. If only she knew what kind of mistake she was making before she agreed to that first date from Alya.

It wasn't until they were married that the real Félix reared his ugly, cold, manipulative, abusive head. He cut off her contact to her parents and to Alya and only let her seem them on approved visits. He cut her off from her dream job saying that she was much more suited to becoming a singer. It was something that he pushed her on, managing everything about her life from her vocal lessons to setting up dates where she would perform and he was always watching over her.

She was 26 now, unhappily married, and her husband controlled every aspect of her life. Sometimes she felt like she couldn't breathe without his say so. He had turned her into a well known Jazz singer and kept talking about how one day she'd make it to the top of the charts. But as much as she used to enjoy singing for fun now it was just a chore required to keep her husband happy. Any attempt to deviate from what he wanted ended in varying punishments. It was anything from starving her, slapping her around, choking her until she was unconscious, locking her in a closet for days, etc. She hated it. She hated herself for allowing this to happen. And she hated that she couldn't do anything about it anymore.

'Believe in yourself' her parents had always told her but she had no self confidence left.

There were some good days, though, like the times he let her go see her parents or visit Alya. She could forget about her life for a few hours and pretend that she was happy for once. If she was really good Félix would give her a free day to do what she wanted and she took that time to just wander Paris. There were strict guidelines to her free days, though. She had to have her phone with her on all times with the GPS enabled so he could track where she went. And when it was time for her to come home he'd order her to remain right where she was so he could pick her up. There were times he would call her and they would stay on the phone the whole time he was in the car to get her.

Today was one of those days and she knew exactly where she was going to go. There was a local alternative rock group that was performing in some basement venue called Chat's Cradle that she desperately wanted to see. She knew Félix didn't approve of the genre and would more than likely scold her for it saying she should have much more refined tastes but at least right now it didn't matter. She arrived a few minutes early and relaxed into the excited thrum of the crowd. And as the band walked on stage she smirked. They all looked like different animals, almost, but the one she was most drawn to was the guitarist and vocalist. He said his name was Chat Noir and he certainly was dressed for the part.

Their music was incredible and it wasn't long before she was jumping along with the crowd, cheering along with the choruses even if she didn't know all the words. It was a freeing experience and she was sort of envious of the members on stage. To be able to run around like that, jump off their equipment, and act like complete fools. She was sure she saw one of them do a flip off of a speaker. But that Chat Noir really could sing and his lyrics hit her in a way she hadn't felt before.

As she waded through the crowd to try and get closer all she could focus on was him. Even if a portion of his face was smeared with black make up something about him looked familiar to her. She wasn't able to get as close as she would have liked but she was close enough to make out some distinguishing features. A sharp jawline, flawless skin, pronounced cheekbones, slim nose, and thin lips. That sounded like someone she had met.

For a brief moment during his concert their eyes met and she paused. Green. There was no way that he was...no, that's just wishful thinking. He couldn't be her Minou, though it was ironic she had always called him kitty and he was in a band calling himself Chat Noir. No, it couldn't be him, and even if it was there was no point now. She was married, as much as she didn't want to be, she was.

As if on cue she felt her phone start to vibrate in her pocket. Freedom was over. She slipped out of the crowded building and waited on the sidewalk in front of the venue for Félix to pick her up. When he pulled up to the curb she looked back at the building for a brief moment before resigning herself to getting into the passenger seat. He reached over to take her hand in his and smiled, putting the car in drive and taking them both back home.

She stared out the window and looked up at the night sky. There was no way that guitarist was her Minou, right?

* * *

 **A/N:** Alright, now that I have these two introduced I feel like I owe you guys some warnings. THIS STORY IS GOING TO GET DARK AND SAD AND DEPRESSING. Any chapter that has something terrible in it will have proper disclaimers at the start of those chapters. But I just want you guys to know before you get really invested that it's nothing but down from here for a while. BUT IT WILL END HAPPY, I promise. But yeah, now that I really figured out exactly what I want to achieve with this story I've changed the rating to M because it will be bad and it will not be pretty. So, if you're up for it, then please stick to it and stay tuned for the next chapter! XOXO


	3. Single, Double, Triple

Adrien looked himself over in the mirror with a sigh. He hadn't worn something this nice in years, it sort of felt a little awkward to be back in a suit. It had been hiding in the back of his closet so he was little surprised to see that it still fit him so well. But the club that Ladybug was performing at had a very strict, formal dress code so if he wanted to go see her that meant being out of his element. It was solid black with a matching black undershirt since he no longer owned a white one. The only hint of color was the chartreuse tie that stood out brightly against his torso. He combed back his hair so the unruly mess didn't dangle in his eyes and gave himself a final once over.

"This is dumb…" He muttered. Still, he was committed to seeing this show if only to prove that it wasn't her. He wasn't expecting to just magically find her now, in fact, his expectations were really low. Adrien was just going to go to this show, listen to the songs, discover it's not the woman he's looking for, come back home, and carry on as usual. There was no reason to even think about getting his hopes up. He stared at himself for a moment longer before stepping away from the mirror and leaving his apartment.

The walk to the club was short even with the blond taking the longest route possible to get there. He stood outside the building for a few minutes debating if he should even go in. If he didn't he'd just be left wondering the what ifs but a small part of him was terrified about finding out the truth. He was positive she wasn't but...what if she was? He shook his head quickly and took in a deep breath, held it for as long as he could, then slowly exhaled as he pulled open one of the doors to step inside.

It was a very dimly lit club that felt like it belonged back in the 1920's. The entryway had walls lined with plush chairs while across from the door was a wooden podium where a man who looked more like a butler stood. Narrow glasses framed his face as he looked down at something that must of been resting on his podium, seemingly unaware of Adrien's presence. The doorway that lead into the rest of the club was covered in thick, deep red velvet curtains that blocked the blonds view from seeing the rest of the inside. He stepped up to the podium, clearing his throat some.

The man who stood behind it snapped his head up at the noise and quickly looked Adrien over. "Ah, my apologies, sir. I was a little lost in thought. Are you here for Mademoiselle Ladybug's show?" He asked. The blond nodded and the doorman looked back down at his papers, flipping through them. "Let's just find you a seat here, oh." He smiled and looked back up at Adrien. "You're in luck, we have an open table right in front of the stage, if you want it."

Adrien blinked a little before speaking up. "S-sure, yeah. That sounds great." The doorman's smile widened. "Excellent, right this way then, sir." He stepped back from the podium, towards the curtains and pulled them aside for Adrien to step through. The main room wasn't very big, maybe twenty to twenty-five tables and most of them were already full of guests. There was a bar also full of people settled in the back of room and the air was thick around him. One quick whif told him that most of the patrons had a cigar or cigarette but that wasn't the only scent in the room. There was some kind of musk invading his senses but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

It was just as dark in here as it was in the entryway with all of the electric lights dimmed to the point that they were almost ineffective. There were candles lit on each of the tables but most of the rooms lighting came from the ones pointed at the stage currently hidden by another red curtain. The doorman stepped past Adrien to lead him closer towards the small stage and pulled out a chair next to a table right near the center of it. He gave the doorman a quick thanks as he sat down and watched him head back to the entryway. Now he felt really uncomfortable.

As he squirmed a bit in a seat a waiter appeared to his left asking if he needed anything to drink. He ordered a whiskey though he knew he probably wasn't going to drink it, he just wanted the glass to fidget with. The waiter was gone as quickly as he came and then a few minutes later the drink was quietly set down on his table without a word.

It seemed impossible for the room to get any darker but as the stage lights started to dim the whole room was covered in darkness. Slowly a spotlight illuminated the curtains as a piano started to play. The gentle notes floated out from behind the curtains as they were raised to reveal a lone microphone. Behind it, standing outside of the spotlight, was a woman's silhouette who seemed to be swaying with piano. Very faintly he could hear a drum providing a slow tempo with the piano for a few measures before a trumpet quietly joined into the mix.

As it did the woman started to step towards the microphone. The first thing he saw was the shimmering red of her floor length gown, then the light started to wash over her form revealing the silver embroidery that decorated her chest. While it was sleeveless the fabric gathered at her neck which was decorated with a diamond choker. Her raven hair cascaded in gentle waves around her face, a face that looked so familiar to him with the way her freckles dotted the bridge of her nose and under her eyes, which were currently closed.

"I don't believe it's always the same." She started to sing, opening her eyes and Adrien felt his heart stop. "I don't believe that people change." Her eyes were just like the ones in his dreams, like a night sky full of stars. But they were different now, like the light in those stars was fading. "I don't believe it's over now, and you're gone forever." It was her. He felt his jaw go slack as he listened to her. "I don't know what I did so wrong, to make you leave and make you run."

Her voice was beautiful but even that was understatement. Adrien found himself leaning forward on the table maybe to get closer look at her or hear her better or just try and be closer to her in general. "I don't know how this hurt and pain, will fade away in time." Her eyes closed again and her brows started to crease. Whatever sadness she was trying to convey was hitting the blond like a ton of bricks. "But is there something I can say to change your mind and make you stay?"

She looked up and over towards him, locking her eyes with his. "Cause I just need you by my side. The way things were before." He couldn't look away from her and she never broke her gaze with him. Did she recognize him? "I do believe in miracles. I do believe in you and I." It felt like she was singing this song at him, at least that part anyway. Of course it could just be incredible showmanship, but Adrien sort of doubted that. "I do believe it's just a phase." Here she did look away to glance off somewhere else in the crowd. 'Stop getting ahead of yourself, Adrien.' he thought to himself, leaning back in his seat some.

"Cause I'm not ready to say goodbye." She held that final note for a while before fading out to let the instruments play. Slowly they too faded out and the song came to an end. A gentle applause washed over the crowd and Adrien clapped right along with them.

The rest of her songs were just as slow and beautiful, but they all did seem to come from some sort of inner sorrow. Something about the way she sang bothered him, though. Her voice was angelic, there was no doubting that, but there was nothing behind it. To him she seemed like a puppet reciting hollow words. Even during what should have been love songs she looked sad or just like she didn't want to be there. Occasionally he would glance around the room to gauge everyone else's reactions but they didn't help. They would smile if the lyrics were happy or tear up when the lyrics were sad, they were just responding to the words. So it was just him, then, who felt like there was no real emotion behind her songs? Just sadness...maybe even agony.

She finished her last song and the crowd stood to applaud her one last time, Adrien standing as well. She bowed lowly before them before stepping off the stage and Adrien settled back down in his seat. He needed to talk to her, to completely confirm she was who he thinks she is and find out if she even remembers him. He actually took a swig from his drink hoping it'd give him a little bit extra courage before he stood up from his seat. If there was a backstage there would be a backdoor that she'd probably exit from so hopefully he could cut her off before she left the building. Setting some money on the table to pay for his drink plus the admission to the show he exited the club and found the proper alley that lead towards the back of the building.

As he slipped past a dumpster he seemed to catch her right on time, watching as she tugged a small jacket over her shoulders as she exited the backdoor. "Excuse me." He called out to her though he paused as he saw her jump at his voice. 'Right, you're just some weird guy in an alley approaching a drop dead gorgeous woman who's alone at night. She has every right to be startled.' He thought, mentally beating himself up a little for that one. He offered her a kind smile and remained where he was as she stared at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, Mademoiselle." He said, crossing a hand over his chest and bowing a little.

She was quiet for a moment but his words did help her relax some, it seemed, as she loosened her grip on her jacket. "It's fine, I'm just...not used to people sneaking up on me in an alley." She said with a light laugh. Adrien straightened up with a light blush and reached his hand around to rest at the base of his neck. "Yeah, I kind of see now this might not have been the best idea." He admitted sheepishly. She giggled back at him, covering her mouth a little with her right hand. "So, are you a fan? Is that why you came back here?" She asked him sweetly.

"Actually this was the first time I've ever been to one of your shows. Jazz isn't normally my thing but I saw your poster and sort of...had to come." He said as he took a few steps closer to her. She shoot him a curious look. "Oh? And why is that?" There was a playful smile on her lips as she looked up at him. "I think we've met before...six years ago." He stated slowly, watching as her playful expression gradually fell to make way for one of surprise. "What…?" She whispered, her eyes widening as they searched his. "It was during a thunderstorm at a Metro station. I almost...jumped onto the tracks and you-"

"I pulled you back onto the platform…" She breathed out as the realization struck her. Adrien could feel his heart start racing in his chest. It _was_ her. It was, it was, he finally _found_ her. She was real, she wasn't just some figment he had imagined that day. Here she was standing right in front of him and he'll be damned if he lost her again. "It really is you…" he muttered out with the widest smile he's worn in ages. "Wow this is amazing." He rambled on, not really sure of what to say now. It wasn't like he had prepared for this, he was prepared for the exact opposite of this situation.

"You look...better. It's good to see you dry instead of in soaking wet clothes." She joked awkwardly. "Honestly I feel really uncomfortable. I haven't worn a suit in years." He said with a light laugh. "It looks good on you." She commented. He still couldn't believe that this was actually happening. After he cleared his throat some he held his hand out to her. "I'm Adrien." She looked down at his hand, then back up at him, and he watched something weird flash in her eyes. Worry? It was gone in an instant as she set her hand in his. "Marinette." She spoke softly as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Marinette...that's a cute name." He grinned and tossed her a wink. "Would you like to grab some coffee sometime? I know I thanked you then but I was hoping, eventually, I'd get a chance to repay you. Coffee is the least I can do." He offered. She hesitated with her answer as if she were debating it between something else. "Sure, that soun-"

"Where is my darling songbird?" A voice came from the backstage door as it opened up. A man came into view with pale blond hair and the coldest gray eyes Adrien's ever seen. Despite the smile on the guy's face he definitely didn't look happy. And from how quickly Marinette let go of Adrien's hand he guessed she wasn't too thrilled to see him either. "Ah, there you are, my love. Are you ready to head home?" He asked, pointedly ignoring Adrien to stand next to Marinette.

'My love?' Adrien thought as he looked at the two of them. He could hear the ripping of his heart as the male leaned down to press a kiss to Marinette's lips. What? After this display of affection the guy he guessed was her boyfriend turned to look at Adrien with a curious glance. "Who is this, dear?" He asked her as his eyes roamed over the rocker like he was trying to size him up. Adrien's eyes slowly shifted to look at Marinette. She looked guilty about something as she chewed on her lip.

"Ah, this is an old friend of mine, from highschool, Adrien." She lied. Why would she lie about where she knew him from? "Adrien, this is my husband, Félix." Husband. _Husband._ _ **Husband**_. The word echoed in his head over and over again. "I see, a pleasure to meet you, Adrien." Félix said with a grin as he extended his hand. Like a robot Adrien shook his hand. "Yeah, a pleasure to meet you as well." He droned. He probably shouldn't sound like his entire world was shattering but he couldn't stop it.

Of course it was stupid to think she had might of waited for him. He himself attempted to get over her a good number of times but he thought that...if it didn't work for him then...it wouldn't work for her? But it did. Maybe everything he had felt that night at the station was one sided. Hell she could have been dating this guy at the time for all he knew. "Anyway, dear, we should be getting home. It's already quite late. I'm sure the two of you can catch up some other time." Félix said. Marinette nodded slowly, casting one quick, pained glance at Adrien. "It was nice seeing you again, Adrien. Good night."

"Y-you too, Marinette. Good night." He said quietly and watched as the two of them went back inside the building. 'This is my husband…' her voice repeated those words in his head as he turned around to leave the alley the way he came. So the universe _was_ playing a sick prank on him but this was much worse than he expected it to be. Why let him find her if he could never have her?

 **-oOo-**

"Adrien, you home?" Nino called out as he knocked on the blond's door. He hadn't heard from the guitarist since the night before and he knew exactly where the other had been going. They had talked about it the day beforehand with Nino warning him not to get his hopes up. He doubted that Adrien listened to him though. He raised his hand to knock again when he heard something move on the other side of the door. He tried the handle and found that the door was unlocked so he decided to let himself in.

"Adrien, practice started two ho-" Nino came to a halt once he entered his friend's living room. Adrien was haphazardly sprawled out on his couch balancing an empty shot glass on his forehead as he stared up at the ceiling with a cigarette hanging loosely off his lips. Nino let out a long sigh. "I thought you quit, dude." He stated as he stepped towards the blond, swiping away at his feet so he could sit down on the couch. "I did." Adrien said simply. "Now I'm not."

"I told you not to get your hopes up." Nino grumbled out, tilting his head just enough to stare at Adrien. The guitarist let out an empty laugh as he pulled the shot glass off his forehead so he could sit up. "That you did." He hummed out as he turned to face his coffee table, setting the glass down. He took a long drag from his cigarette before he plucked it from his mouth. "And I didn't." He exhaled smoke as he spoke. "I went there totally expecting it to be some random woman, just like you told me to."

Nino watched his friend with furrowed brows; he wasn't making any sense. He watched as Adrien opened an already almost half bottle of whiskey and pour himself a single...double...triple shot before setting the bottle down. "So what happened, then?" Nino asked slowly. "Well…" Adrien started before downing his drink. "Turns out, it was her." He finished, slamming down the shot glass before returning the cigarette to his lips. "Wait, _her_ her? Her as in the girl who pulled you away from the train her?"

"The one and only." Adrien said with a nod. "And...what? She tell you she didn't like you?" Nino was getting a little annoyed with how cryptic Adrien was being. "I dunno, didn't get that far." The blond let out a long breath, accented with thin trails of smoke coming out of his nose. " _Apparently_ , she's married. So…" He trailed off as Nino made a silent 'O' face.

"So...what are you going to do now?" Nino spoke up after a few moments of silence. "Well, right now my plan is drink til I forget, then wake up tomorrow with a killer hangover, and be depressed as fuck about this whole shitty situation." Adrien said with a strong nod of his head. "I'll let you know once I make any new developments on that plan." He added in a mutter. "Right...well, at least get me a glass. Can't have you drinking by yourself." Nino said calmly. He didn't really know what to say to try and comfort his friend aside from just being there for him and attempt to distract him from his pain.

* * *

 **A/N:** So the descent starts... I think this chapter has the last scene that could possibly be considered sweet for at least three chapters. R &R, XOXO!

Also the song used in this chapter is _The Way Things Were - Anita Marie_


	4. Home

**A/N:** Alright! There is some abuse/assault in this chapter, so be warned! Also, so you can understand the first scene and it makes more sense. Everything in Italics is what's happening to Marinette while Adrien is performing this song. The dialogue that is **not** in italics are the lyrics to the song he's singing. R&R, I'll be back soon with the next chapter! XOXO

And the song used in this chapter is _Home - Three Days Grace_.

* * *

Adrien stood on stage behind the microphone and stared out at the cheering crowd before him. His distraction was failing him, he couldn't block everything out like he normally could while he performed. Was it showing? No, he wouldn't let his fans down like that, but did he like it? Not at all. He turned to his bandmates to mutter something quietly to them. He was changing the set list. They all shrugged their shoulders and nodded before Adrien looked back to the crowd. Nino counted them off by smacking his drumsticks together; one, two, three, four.

The rest of the band jumped up, then slammed on the ground as they started to play. Adrien closed his eyes as he violently strummed out note after note on his guitar. The crowd started screaming; this was a song they hadn't played in a while, so the fans were happy to hear it again. The blond stepped up to mic as he started to sing.

"I'll be coming home just be alone."

 _Marinette unlocked the door to her townhouse and slowly pushed it open to step inside. She stood in the foyer quietly as she looked around nervously. "Félix?" She called out to him but there was no response. Letting out a small breath she moved out of the foyer to the living room._

"Cause I know you're not there and I know that you don't care."

 _From the living room she proceeded to run up the stairs, poking her head in every room to double check that her husband wasn't home. Eventually she was in the bedroom grabbing a suitcase to throw some clothes into._

"I can hardly wait to leave this place."

"No matter how hard I try, you're never satisfied." _Marinette moved as quickly as she could, filling up her suitcase with everything that she might need._ "This is not a home I think I'm better off alone." _She was holding back her tears as she darted around the room, whispering to herself 'Please don't come home, please don't come home.' over and over again._ "You always disappear, even when you're here." _She froze at the sound of the front door opening._ "This is not my home I think I'm better of alone. Home. Home. This house is not a home, home. This house is not a home." _She started to panic. 'No, no, no, nonononono' she mentally cried._

"By the time you come home I'm already stoned."

 _As she tried to put everything back in their proper place she could hear Félix walking through the house, heading to the stairs. His steps were slow and deliberate like he knew what she was planning on doing. Before she knew it his steps were right behind the door and her suitcase was still on the bed._

"You turn off the T.V. and you scream at me!"

" _Marinette, my darling songb-" He greeted her as he opened the door, pausing when he looked at her, then at the suitcase. "What's that for?" He asked, voice dropping to a dangerous monotone while he glared at her. She stared back at him terrified. "I was...reorganizing…" She lied, knowing he wouldn't buy it but trying anyway._

"I can hardly wait for you to get off my case."

"No matter how hard I try, you're never satisfied." _Marinette shrieked as Félix viciously lashed out, slapping her roughly. "Don't lie to me!" He yelled._ "This is not a home I think I'm better off alone." _She fell backwards onto the bed gasping for breath as Félix followed after her to clamp his hand around her throat._ "You always disappear, even when you're here." _Tears started to pour down from her eyes as he growled. "You were planning on leaving, weren't you?" She shook her head._ "This is not my home I think I'm better off alone."

"Home, home. This house is not a home, home." _The back of his hand connected with her cheek again as he held her pinned to the bed by her neck._ "This house is not a home, home." _His grip tightened as she struggled underneath of him. She reached up to claw at his eyes and it was just enough for him to let go._ "This house is not a home, home." _She sprinted from the bedroom with Félix right on her heels. He grabbed her by the hair to smash her face into a hallway mirror. "You bitch! You were going to leave me!" He roared._ "This house is not a home."

"I'm better off alone!" _She fell the ground sobbing with glass in her hands as she used them to try and protect her face._ "No matter how hard I try, you're never satisfied." _She could tell her lips were bleeding but she kept trying to get away from him. She had to get out._ "This is not a home I think I'm better off alone." _She made it down the stairs when Félix caught her again, yanking her by the wrists and holding them tight enough to bruise._ "You always disappear, even when you're here." _Marinette grabbed a vase off a nearby bookshelf and smashed it over Félix's head so he'd let her go._ "This is not my home I think I'm better off alone."

"Home, home. This house is not a home, home." _Marinette scrambled for the front door, tripping over herself in the process._ "This house is not a home, home." _Her hand landed on the doorknob, heart racing, and she swung it open._ "This house is not a home, home." _The cool night air hit her lungs as she ran out of her house._ "This house is not a home." _She could hear Félix shout after her from the doorway but it was too late. She was gone. She was free, for now._

As the song came to an end Adrien had a sinking feeling in his chest. A feeling that something bad just happened but he didn't know what.

 **-oOo-**

The concert had been over for a while but Adrien was back to his aimless wandering. He was still in his stage make up with his guitar strapped over one shoulder and that feeling still hadn't left his chest. He pulled his almost empty pack of smokes out of his pocket and pulled one out, lazily lighting it before shoving the rest back in his pocket. There was still a small throbbing in his head from all the drinking he had done the day before and while the nicotine was helping he was ready for the headache to be gone.

Finally he was in front of his apartment building about to head inside when the sound of someone sniffling caught his attention. He turned to see someone slowly staggering down the sidewalk. At first he thought it was just some drunk stranger but when they walked under the lamppost his cigarette fell out of his mouth. "Marinette…?" He asked quietly.

She froze where she stood as she turned her head to look at him. This explained that feeling in his chest. The girl was trembling, clinging to her jacket, and she looked like complete shit. He could see a scabbed up cut on her forehead just at the edge of her hairline, an unnatural red cheek, and a busted lip but the rest of her was covered. "Adrien?" Her voice was weak, cracking some even though she only said one word.

The blond took a few steps closer to her as he tried to find something he should say. The stars in her eyes had fallen down her cheeks which were stained with her tears. Those jaw dropping sapphires looked lifeless under the light she stood next to. "What happened to you? What are you doing out here so late?" He finally asked as he stood next to her. He reached a hand out towards her but she quickly shied away from him, stepping backwards a little.

"It...it's fine. I just tripped and took a nasty fall down some stairs." She muttered. Adrien wanted to believe her but his chest just tightened up even more. "I just r-really needed to get some air." Marinette continued. "Bad day, I guess." He let out a long breath as he looked her over. He swayed onto one side a little before speaking up again. "Do you want to come up and talk about it?" He asked, pointing over to the apartment building they stood near. "I'm in the only one on the top floor."

She shook her head rapidly. "No, no, I couldn't bother you like that." In the process her jacket lowered a little from her neck and Adrien was quick to notice purple. Is that a bruise? Marinette realized how focused his gaze on her neck was and wrapped her jacket around her neck to cover up the bruise once more. She had hoped maybe that wasn't what he was staring at but the pained, somewhat furious look in his eyes told her he had absolutely seen it. "A-anyway, I should probably go…" She whispered, turning around to leave.

"Wait!" Adrien said, stepping towards her and reaching out but pulling back some before he actually touched her. "Let me walk with you. It's dangerous to be alone at night." He offered quietly. She turned back around to look at him, studying him, before she nodded her head slowly. As she turned back to keep walking he caught up to walk next to her with his hands stuffed in his pockets. They were quiet for a few moments before she finally spoke up. "I like your band, by the way." She muttered.

He blinked and looked down at her. "R-Really? Never thought a jazz singer would be at one of my shows." He said with a light laugh. She giggled a little. "Yeah, it's a sort of guilty pleasure of mine. So don't tell anyone." She said, raising a finger to her lips. Adrien inwardly twinged as she did so, he could see another bruise just under the cuff of her jacket on her wrist. She didn't fall, did she? He kept that thought to himself. "Don't worry, I won't tell a soul, Princess." He said with a smirk.

"Princess?" She asked with a raised brow. The blond swallowed harshly and looked away from her. "Sorry, I don't really know where that came from." She shook her head gently. "It's fine, it's kind of sweet. You know, it's funny you call yourself Chat Noir in your band." Adrien turned to look at her curiously as she continued. "After that night at the station since I didn't know your name I started referring to you as Minou. You looked like a wet kitten that night with your hair stuck to your face."

Adrien grinned. "I always called you Ladybug because of your phone case." He admitted with a small laugh. Marinette smiled up at him and he could see a few lights start to come back in her eyes. At least he was helping her some. A car suddenly pulled up to the curb next to them and Félix hopped out of the driver's seat. "Marinette! There you are, I was so worried about you."

Adrien watched as Marinette turned into a statue with all the color draining from her face. She looked so terrified at just hearing her husbands voice. She jumped when Félix put a hand on her shoulder, standing there on edge like she wanted to run away from him. It made the hair on the back of Adrien's neck stand up. He didn't like this guy and he especially didn't like the fact that Marinette seemed mortified to see him. It also brought back the question Adrien had just a few minutes beforehand.

"Marinette…" He started, looked between her and her husband. "Did you really fall?" He asked, knowing he probably shouldn't but just seeing how scared she looked he couldn't help it. There was no way she got those kinds of bruises in those places from just falling. She stared up at him wide eyed but before she could say anything Félix spoke up. "Oh, of course she did. My silly wife here is always tripping over herself and falling at home." He said with a fake laugh. "It's a hassle constantly cleaning up after all the things she breaks."

Adrien twitched. God he wanted to punch that face in because he _knew_ that fucker was lying. "Right, dear?" Félix asked and Marinette winced as the grip on her shoulder tightened. It took all of Adrien's control not to rip that hand off her shoulder. "Y-Yeah, silly klutz, that's me." She said with a weak laugh. Marinette looked up at Adrien apologetically before gazing down at her feet. Her stars were gone again.

"Anyway, honey, we should get home. It's getting late and you have a very busy day tomorrow." Her husband said, pulling her away from Adrien and towards the car. She stalled for a moment before giving Félix a defeated nod and following after him. Félix held the door open for her as she slid into the car, closing it a bit too roughly in Adrien's opinion.

As Félix rounded the car Adrien stared at Marinette mouthing the words 'My door is always open' before Félix could see him do it. Before her husband got in the car he stared at Adrien for a moment and the rocker glared back at him. It was a split second moment but the two of them shared a silent conversation.

' _Stay away from my wife.'_ Félix conveyed with his eyes.

' **Make me.'** Adrien retorted with a sneer.

Félix let out an aggravated huff before he dropped into his car, slamming the door shut in the process. He sped off down the street and Adrien watched until they disappeared into the city. He stood on the sidewalk with his eyes locked onto where the car had vanished from his sight. A few minutes later Adrien started walking back to his apartment, lighting another cigarette in the process. "Make me…" he repeated out loud to himself.


	5. It's Not A Threat, It's A Promise

**A/N:** Aw man things are starting to get intense! Nothing terrible in these scenes, just some more development towards possibly the first major confrontation?! Oh man what's gonna happen next?! Stay tuned my lovelies, I'll be back with more! XOXO, and thank you all for the wonderful support so far!

Marinette's song: _Cry me a river - Julie London  
_ Adrien's song: _Break - Three Days Grace_  
Adrien's Tattoo: tinyurl gtst38z

* * *

"Now you say you're lonely. You cry the whole night through."

Adrien found himself back at that club a week later at another one of Marinette's shows. Instead of being in the front close to the stage he sat at the bar holding another glass of whiskey in his hands; sitting next to him on the bartop was a bouquet of roses with a calling card. It didn't say anything, though, instead the only thing being printed on it was an image of a black cat.

"Well you can cry me a river, cry me a river. I cried a river over you."

The blond leaned against the bartop heavily, one leg crossed in front of the other as he watched her. She wore a new dress this night; a matte crimson gown that had a sleeveless sweetheart neckline and a slit on one side exposing her right leg. Decorating her neck was the different diamond choker that had jeweled, silver strands falling in a v shape over her collarbone. Her hair was pulled up into an elegant bun to show off her bangle earrings that matched her choker.

"Now you say you're sorry, for being so untrue."

Adrien's eyes looked over every inch of Marinette as he listened to her sing. Even under her make up he could still see the hint of the wound that was on her forehead and the subtle color change on her lip from where it had been busted. Her neck was covered by the choker but the off yellow color of healing bruises on her wrists did not go unnoticed. His grip on his glass tightened as he considered what could have possibly caused everything. There was no way she fell; not with how scared she seemed around Félix. If only she would just admit it.

"Well you can cry me a river, cry me a river. I cried a river over you."

She looked dead inside, he could even hear it in her voice. Her eyes scanned the crowd blankly, barely taking anyone in. There was no light behind them, instead they looked even darker than normal. Just endless, bottomless pits of nothing that seemed to eat her alive from the inside out.

"You drove me, nearly drove me out of my head while you never shed a tear."

Of course he was the only one to notice this. As he looked around the room, partially to look for Félix but mostly to see how the rest of the crowd was reacting, everyone seemed to be enjoying her song. How could so many people be so blind as to not notice her pain?

"Remember, I remember all that you said. Told me love was too plebeian."

He downed the rest of his drink and set the glass back down on the bartop. When the bartender came over about to refill it Adrien shook his head, instead pulling out some cash to pay for everything. He knew he wouldn't be staying for much longer; couldn't stay much longer. Not without jumping on stage, scooping her up, and taking her home.

"Told me you were through with me, and now you say you love me."

Before the bartender left Adrien leaned over the counter to whisper something to him. He asked to make sure the flowers made it back to Marinette after the show was over. He slid the man an extra tip and the bartender nodded, saying he'd deliver them to the dressing room. When he asked who to tell her it was from Adrien pointed to the card, letting him know that she'll know when she gets them.

"Well, just to prove do, come on and cry me a river, cry me a river. I cried a river over you."

With her song coming to an end and a delivery system set up for the roses he bought her Adrien shrugged himself off the bar and made his way towards the exit. "I cried a river over you." She echoed three more times as he slipped out of the club. He paused at the drapes to look at her one last time though she didn't look at him before he finally exited completely and made his way back home

 **-oOo-**

Marinette walked into her dressing room after her concert, closing the door silently behind her before resting against it with a sigh. She didn't know how much longer she could do this. After last week Félix had been watching her like a hawk. The only alone time she got was these few precious moments in her dressing room but only because he was practically guarding the exit out of the building. As she pushed herself off the door she jumped at the gentle knocking coming from the other side. Steeling herself for Félix to be standing on the other side she opened it and was shocked to see the club's bartender standing there with a bouquet of roses.

She blinked at him for a few moments as he handed them to her. "They're from one of the guests tonight, though he didn't leave a name." The bartender stated. Nodding she took the flowers from him, still a little stunned, and closed the door once more. She spun the flowers in her hand to see if there was a calling card, smiling softly when she finally saw it. "Adrien…" She whispered as she looked down at the image of the black cat.

She pulled the card out of the roses before setting the flowers inside a vase that rested on her vanity. It wasn't unusual for fans to send her flowers so she knew Félix wouldn't think anything of them. The card, however, she snuck into her purse so he wouldn't see it. It could be her own little secret who sent them to her.

 **-oOo-**

"I'm telling you, dude, you should just stay out of it." Nino muttered as he spun around on his stool behind his drumset. "You barely even know her." He continued as the blond kept strumming a few random chords. They were in the middle of a sound check for their next show three nights after Adrien went back to that club. "I can't just stay out of it, Nino." He muttered, listening to make sure everything sounded right. "I mean what am I supposed to think when I see her walking down the street, bruised up and crying, and then looks horrified when her husband comes to pick her up?"

"If there was something like that going on I'm sure she'd go to the police about it." Nino said, stopping in his spinning to look at the guitarist. "Don't you think she would?" He asked as he leaned against the drums. "No, I don't." Adrien said, turning to face the drummer. "In fact, most of the time, most women don't report things like that." He stated in a huff. Nino blinked at Adrien a few times before letting out a low, irritated groan.

"Okay, fine, so what are you going to do, then? You don't know where she lives and you don't know her number. All you know is the club she performs at and I guarantee you if her husband is like you say he is then he's at that club every time she performs. How are you going to get close to her?" He asked as their bassist started to go through their sound check. Adrien pulled his guitar of his shoulders with a shrug. "I haven't gotten that far yet." He admitted as he hopped of the stage.

The blond stepped outside of the venue to light himself a cigarette as he rested against the worn brick of the building. It wasn't much longer before Nino came out to stand with him, leaning against the street light across from him. "Just don't do anything reckless, alright? Last thing I need is a phone call from you in a jail cell because you beat a guy senseless." The drummer said with a grin. Adrien snickered a little. "I can't really promise that, you should know me better than that."

 **-oOo-**

Marinette walked with her arm looped through Alya's down the sidewalk towards the venue. "Oh god, Mari, I'm so glad we're finally able to go out. I feel like I haven't seen you in ages." The brunette said excitedly, nearly jumping with each step she took. Marinette smiled along with her while tightening her hold on her friend's arm. "Yeah, I finally had a free night so I thought this would be a great idea." She said happily. It wasn't easy getting the night free from Félix, especially after what happened almost a week and a half ago. She did _not_ want to go into detail about what she had to do to let her husband give her the night off. It was...degrading, to say the least.

"So what did you say this band was called?" Alya asked, pulling Marinette from her thoughts. "Ah, Chat's Cradle. And get this, the lead singer and guitarist, he's Minou. That guy from six years ago." The bluenette explained which brought her best friend to a sudden halt on the sidewalk. "Wait, _seriously_?" She asked with her brown eyes wide. Marinette was practically jerked back at the sudden lack of movement and looked up at her friend with a curious glance. "Mari, you _dog._ Do I have to remind you that you're married?" Alya asked with a sly grin.

Instantly Marinette's cheeks flushed. "A-Alya! It's nothing like that! We've barely even spoken to one another, it was sort of an accident that we even ran into each other again." She quickly explained. Alya took a moment to look Marinette over before locking eyes with her once again. "Uh huh. Do you at least know his name, now?" She asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her blush still ever present on her cheeks the singer nodded. "Yeah, it's A-Adrien." She said quietly.

"Oh my god you still have a thing for him, don't you?" Alya asked with a laugh. Marinette did her best to glare at Alya but she knew her friend was right. The first night when he came to her show the moment she saw him in that alley she felt her heart start to flutter. But she had managed to squash that feeling pretty quickly when she reminded herself that she was married. She had made a vow and she wasn't one to break something like that, no matter what kind of person Félix turned out to be. There still had to be something left, something of the guy she had grown to love before they got married, right? But the way that Adrien looked at her...

With a quick shake of her head she dismissed those thoughts for later. For now she was here to enjoy a night with Alya and sneak in a few glances at Adrien. Plus she needed to find a way to thank him for the roses. She had a card prepared but she had no idea how she was actually going to give it to him. "Come on, we're going to be late if we keep standing here." Marinette said as she started to tug her friend down the sidewalk, ending that conversation before it went anywhere else.

When they made it into the small concert hall Adrien's band was performing in they did their best to get as close to the stage as possible. They succeeded for the most part, not directly in front of it but only two or three rows of people back. The pair was jittery with excitement and it only intensified as the band walked on stage. Marinette froze for a moment as she looked over Adrien, dressed in a loose fitting tank top and black leather pants along with his usual belt tail, choker, ears, and 'mask' made from black make up. His hair was pulled up into a small ponytail pulling most of the hair out of his face but there were still bangs already starting to cling to him. She was mostly drawn to the tattoos decorating his shoulders and biceps though it looked like it extended over his shoulder blades. She couldn't tell with the tank top blocking her view.

But it looked like feathers, more importantly, the tips of wings wrapping up over his shoulders and down the upper half of his arms with the tip of the longest feather hitting his elbows. Alya caught her staring and nudged her with her elbow. "That him?" She managed to ask as they started to play. With a blush Marinette nodded though she couldn't tear her eyes off him.

Just like last time she came to one of his shows they were full of energy as they ran and jumped around. The crowd screamed and jumped right along with them, swaying with the music while getting lost in the experience. As they finished one song Adrien paused to rip off his tank top, tossing it into the crowd. Multiple pairs of hands reached up to grab at it but it was Marinette who came out the victor, clutching the fabric close to her chest. It seemed that he was watching where it disappeared to and spotted Marinette in the crowd, grinning down at her and flashing her a quick wink before starting the next song.

"Tonight, my head is spinning. I need something to pick me up." He started, swaying with the music as he plucked at his guitar. Marinette was left voiceless, stunned in shock at what had just happened. "I've tried, but nothing is working. I won't stop, I won't say I've had enough." Did he really just wink at her? And did she really just like it? "Tonight I start the fire. Tonight I break away."

"Break! Away from everybody. Break! Away from everything." Marinette did the best she could at folding up his tank top and stuffing it into her purse. "If you can't stand the way this place is take yourself to higher places!" She stared up at him with a smile as she started to really listen to the song, jumping around with Alya and the rest of the crowd. She could come to one of his shows every night and never get bored of it.

"At night I feel like a vampire. It's not right but I just can't give it up." The jazz singer took a moment to look at everything but his face, letting her eyes wander over his exposed torso. It was covered in a layer of sweat from him running and jumping around under all of those bright lights and damn was he hot. "I'll try to get myself higher. Let's go, we're gonna light it up!"

"Tonight we start the fire." We? She looked up at him and found him looking back at her. "Tonight we'll break away. Break! Away from everybody. Break! Away from everything." Did that mean something? Or was that just the song? "If you can't stand the way this place is take yourself to higher places!" He turned around to face his band as he broke out into a solo. It gave her the perfect view of that tattoo she had been curious about earlier.

It was a set of wings, starting from his shoulder blades and extending outwards. But instead of it being a folded pair covering his whole back it was more like an anatomically correct version that fanned out over his arms. They opened up whenever he held his arms outwards and appeared closed whenever his arms were by his sides. And the detail put into each of the feathers was astounding, it must have taken him hours to get that done.

He turned back around to repeat the chorus a few more times before the song, along with the concert, came to an end. He thanked the crowd, shooting one last glance at Marinette while inclining his head backwards, before he and the rest of the band stepped off the stage. She was quick to take the hint and grabbed Alya by the hand before making her way towards a side door that exited into an alley next to the venue.

About a minute later Adrien walked outside sort of covered in a black hoodie but it was unzipped and falling off one of his shoulders a little. It took all of Marinette's focus to make sure to stare at his face. Behind him was their drummer whose name she didn't know yet. The two of them were laughing about something before noticing the two girls standing there.

"Oh, cool, you did notice. I wasn't sure." Adrien said with a smile as he walked up to the two girls, tugging his hoodie to actually cover up both shoulders. "How'd you like the show?" He asked them both though Marinette was a bit too flustered to answer. Alya spoke up instead. "It was amazing! I'll definitely be coming back to see you guys again!" She beamed. "I'm glad Marinette here dragged me along." The bluenette nodded her head in agreement which left both Adrien and Nino smiling back at them happily.

"Oh, Marinette, this is our drummer, Nino." He said, pulling Nino to stand next to him. The alluded gave them both a wave before looking at Marinette. "Nice to finally meet the mysterious Ladybug in person. Adrien's talked about you so much I almost didn't think you were real." The drummer teased. "Nino!" Adrien chided, playfully punching the drummer in the arm. The two girls laughed a little at their antics before Marinette spoke up. "Ah, this is my childhood friend, Alya." She said, nudging the brunette with her hips. Alya mirrored Nino in waving to the two band members. "Nice to meet you guys, though I'm kind of in the same boat as Nino. When Marinette first started talking about some Minou I thought it was just a stray cat she found in the rain." She said with a laugh.

The group shared a laugh before calming into a strangely comfortable silence. As Adrien pulled his pack of smokes from his pocket, stepping back some so he didn't bother the girls, Nino and Alya slipped into their own little conversation. He smirked as the two of them seemed to instantly hit it off. Before he knew it Marinette was at his side as he was lighting his cigarette causing him to pause for a moment. Should he stop? Would it bother her? He knew this was a filthy habit but it sort of helped dull the fact that the woman he'd been searching for for six years was married to someone he suspected was an abusive fuckwad.

Marinette noticed his hesitation and held a hand up while shaking her head. "It's fine, I don't mind at all." She said sweetly. He held the lighter in his hands for a few moments longer before bringing it to the cigarette, taking along drag to make sure it was lit, and then placed it back in his pocket. "Oh, right, I brought this for you. As a sort of thank you for the roses." She said, pulling out a small envelope that was red and decorated with black spots from her purse. He smiled warmly down at it, gingerly taking it from her hand to turn it over in his fingers. "Can I open it now?" He asked, feeling like a child at christmas.

"Of course you can, goof. It's nothing secret." She said with a small giggle. Holding his cigarette in his lips he carefully opened up the envelope, not wanting to tear it, and pulled out a card. He had to keep himself from laughing at how cute the whole idea of giving him a card was. Opening it up there was a handwritten note along with what looked like a gift certificate to some bakery. "What's this?" He whispered, mostly to himself, as he skipped the gift certificate to read what the note said.

 _Thank you so much for the flowers, they were very sweet. I know it's not much in return but my parents run a really nice bakery, so use this to help yourself to something nice! Also, I probably shouldn't do this but...I'd really like to catch up sometime and get a chance to actually talk. So, here's my number. Xxx-xxx-xxxx_

 _-Marinette_

"Aw, Princess, I'm touched. You didn't have to get me anything in return." He nearly purred as he looked down at her with a grin. "But thank you, I'll treasure it deeply." Adrien said with a wink, holding the card to his chest. Marinette blushed again, feeling like that was all she could do tonight apparently, and was about to say something in return when a voice cut her off.

"Marinette!" Félix shouted from the end of the alley. Her eyes flew open wide in shock as she turned her head to her husband start marching down towards them with what looked like malicious intent in his eyes. The four of them immediately stood on edge, though only two really knew why. "I've been calling you for the last ten minutes! Where is your phone?" He asked, clearly furious as he joined the group. The rival blond didn't bother sharing his attention with Alya or Nino, instead focusing mostly on Adrien as Marinette dug around in her purse to pull out her phone.

To her surprise there were almost twenty missed calls from Félix along with a numerous text messages varying from sweet 'I'm on my way to pick you up, love' to dangerous 'Pick up your fucking phone, Marinette.' Fumbling in putting her phone back in her purse she looked up at Félix apologetically. "I'm so sorry, I must not have heard it ring or felt it vibrating through my purse." She said, practically pleading with him. "It's fine, just go get in the car." He said, trying to curb his anger at least around Alya. She nodded quickly, shouting a quick goodbye to everyone else before running off down the alley to get in Félix's car.

Her husband didn't follow, however, his eyes still locked onto Adrien who was glaring back at him. Something in him snapped and he couldn't hide it from Alya even if he wanted to. Before Nino or Alya could process what was going on Félix grabbed Adrien by his jacket and slammed him up against the nearest wall, causing the rocker to drop his cigarette in the process. "I see you near my wife again and I'll make you regret ever laying eyes on her." He growled lowly. Surprisingly Alya was the one who attempted to separate the two but was held back by Nino who whispered something about how it would be fine.

Adrien remained silent, instead his glare growing colder and just as dangerous as Félix's. They remained like that for a short moment before Félix finally let him go, backing up a few steps and then finally turning around to make his way back down the alley. The guitarist bent down to pick up his still burning cigarette as he called out to the other male. "Hey, Félix!" He shouted, straightening up as the other turned around to face him. "If I see another bruise on her wrist…" he paused for a moment, a wicked and somewhat crooked smile crossing his features. "...or on her _neck._ " Adrien crushed the cigarette in his hand, actually taking some sick enjoyment out of the burning pain in his palm. "I'll make you regret ever being _born._ " He threatened with an expression that screamed he had an excited desire to murder the bastard in cold blood. "I promise."

Félix practically snarled in response, turning sharply on his heel to storm out of the alley and into his car. All that the trio heard next was the sound of tires squealing as Félix peeled off down the road at high speeds. Silence settled between the three of them before Alya broke the silence. "What the _fuck_ was that about?" She demanded, staring down Adrien as the guitarist kept his eyes locked on where Marinette and Félix disappeared from. "I'll tell you over some drinks." He muttered, feeling like he had a lot of explaining to do because he doubted Alya knew anything about what was really going on at Marinette's home.


	6. Gunpowder Lips

**A/N:** Alright, abuse warning for right in the beginning. And then we've got some blood at the end of the chapter. Don't hate me. I did promise you a happy ending and you'll get that but I can't resist some good drama. This chapter was shorter than I wanted it to be so hopefully it doesn't come off as rushed. I was just really excited about this scene, I've been thinking about this particular chapter since I started the fic. R &R, I'll be back soon with Adrien's retaliation. XOXO

* * *

Marinette sat in the car staring at her knees as Félix rushed them home; clinging to her purse tightly. She didn't dare look at anything else as she was afraid she'd find her husband glaring back at her. They came to a stop light and Marinette considered just jumping out of the car then but she didn't really have much time to consider it as the light turned green and he sped off once more. The closer they came to their house the more terrified she grew, what would he do to her now? Why didn't she hear her phone going off in her purse? She should have been paying more attention or had her ringtone set louder.

The car came to a stop and the engine cut off. Finally Marinette lifted her head up to look out the window, spotting their townhouse. Félix threw open his door, stepping out of the car, and slammed it shut behind him before marching around the front of the car to get to the passenger side. He opened up her door. "Get out." He ordered and she quickly did as she was told, darting past her husband to walk up to their front door. She heard the car door slam behind her as she unlocked the door and pushed it open to step inside with Félix right behind her.

Once she was in the living room she paused in her steps as she cast her gaze down towards the floor. Félix came to stand before her and she waited. She waited for the inevitable pain she knew would start blossoming over her cheek because she knew he'd slap her. What she did not expect was for all the air to be suddenly forced out of her lungs as his fist connected with her stomach. She doubled over gasping for air when he grabbed her by the hair to force her to look at him. "You run away from me a week and a half ago." He starts, backhanding her with his free hand but keeping her held up by her hair. "And after you _beg_ me to let you go out tonight, doing _everything_ I asked of you yesterday, _this_ is how you repay me?"

Marinette tried to back away from him despite his hold on her scalp and he just followed after her. "You betray my trust by running to _him?!_ That arrogant, good-for-nothing punk?!" His voice was trembling with rage as he threw her against the couch. "Félix, please, it's nothing like that." She whimpered as tears fell down her cheeks. "Nothing like that?! Walking alone with him at night, meeting up with him in some alley with that slut of a friend Alya?! You're _mine_ Marinette! No one else's!" Félix yelled.

Before she had a chance to right herself and stand his hands were clamped around her ankles, dragging her across the living room floor. "Félix, don't do this! Please!" She begged, clawing at the floor as he tugged her over towards the closet under the stairs. After opening it up he grabbed her by the hair once more and threw her inside, slamming the door shut and locking it after her. "This is me being nice!" He bellowed as she started banging against the door. "If I catch you with him again I'll _show_ you why you're _**mine**_."

Marinette listened as he walked away from the door and up the stairs. Sobbing she slid down to the floor, cradling her knees to her chest now that she was alone in the dark. She had no idea how long she'd be locked in here. Last time it was only a few days but he'd never been this mad before. Would it be a week? Longer? Would he give her food or water? She tightened her hold on her legs and buried her face in between her knees wailing. ' _Adrien...help me…'_

 **-oOo-**

"Alright, what the hell is going on?" Alya asked as she slid into a booth at some nearby bar with Adrien and Nino. Nino settled into his seat quietly knowing only the little bit of what Adrien has told him and most of that is just speculation. Adrien let out a long sigh as he leaned back against the booth to collect his thoughts some. Idly he rubbed his palm where he had extinguished that cigarette earlier hoping it'd help him get somewhat of a clear head. "So...what do you know of Marinette's home life?" He finally asked. "I need to know before I tell you anything because nothing I have has really been proven." He added before Alya could protest being answered with a question.

The brunette took a moment to think it over before speaking up. "Honestly, I don't know." She finally said, resting her head in her hand. "When she started dating Félix everything was normal, then she moved in with him and I started seeing her less and less, but every time she'd talk about how happy she was with him. When they got married, though, a lot of things changed. Suddenly she went from wanting to be a fashion designer to apparently wanting to be a jazz singer, she lost interest in a lot of things she used to passionate about, and started liking things that she used to hate." Alya cast her gaze down to the lit candle on the table and idly started pushing it around with her finger.

"It was a little weird. Out of the blue it felt like he was controlling her whole life. He manages her career for her, decides when she's able to go out and always picks her up when she has to go home. I don't remember him ever being that demanding but she'd never complained to me about it. I have been worried though, there's been a few times that she's shown up to one of our lunch dates with an odd bruise. She's always been a klutz but what was so miraculous about it was that she'd come out of some terrible fall completely unscathed, so to have her tell me she got a bruise from falling seemed off. Why?" She asked, finishing her little explanation.

Adrien listened to her intently as she spoke, running a hand down his face once she finished. "Right, so, I'm pretty sure those bruises aren't from falling, and I think they're going to get worse." He said, leaning forward in his seat. "About a week and half ago I was coming home from a show when she showed up in front of my apartment building just stumbling out on the sidewalk, and she was crying. She had a busted lip, a cut on her head, and some bruises on her wrist and around her neck. I'm pretty sure that's he's violent and abusive at home but clearly she's not admitting to it so it's not like we can go to the police about it."

"Wait, _what?!_ " Alya shouted, lunging forward a bit like she was about to bolt out of her seat. She was quickly stopped by Adrien putting a hand out. "I know, I know. It's bad, but we can't just run over there even if we wanted to." He states calmly. Slowly Alya settles back down in her seat, clearing her throat. "So what do we do then?" She asked, still somewhat irritated. The blond falls quiet for a few moments. "Honestly, I don't know. Clearly we need to wait for what happened tonight to blow over. I'm sure if either one of us try to contact her right now it would just make things worse."

"Alright, let me stop you right here." Nino said, leaning between the two of them but looking at Adrien. "Dude, I know you like this girl, but you barely know her. Don't you think you're getting a little in over your head? I mean, I'm going to support you no matter what you do, any guy who hurts a woman clearly needs to rot in jail, but you need to seriously think about this." He said. Adrien stared Nino down with a determined gaze. "She saved my life, Nino. I owe her this much."

The drummer faltered, stunned for a moment at how unwavering Adrien was about wanting to help this girl he hardly knew. Nino let out a low groan, ruffling his hair with both his hands before letting out a defeated sigh and dropping his hands back onto the table. "Alright, then let's make some kind of plan for when things have finally calmed down."

 **-oOo-**

A month passed and Adrien was sure he was about die of lung cancer. After exchanging numbers with Alya they had decided that if he was ever going to text Marinette he'd have to wait until at least Alya got some responses back. It'd be fine for her to send a few messages to Marinette randomly but some unknown number would get suspicious quick. So he waited, and he waited, and then he waited some more. When he was at a show he'd look for her in the crowd and when he was at home he'd pace around his apartment never without a cigarette in his mouth. He didn't like this. ' _She has to be okay, she has to be. If she's not I swear to god…'_

The rocker lunged towards his phone when it alerted him to a new message. It was from Alya telling him that Marinette had finally started sending messages back but he should still wait a few days before trying to contact her. He groaned, falling onto his couch. He hated waiting but he understood why so he'd be a good Minou and wait two more days. Did he really just refer to himself by her nickname? Idly he started tapping his head against the armrest of his couch. Just two more days, he can do this.

The morning of day three he fished the card she had given him out of his hoodie and typed her digits into his phone before typing out a message to her. [Good morning, Princess!] Nope. Delete. [Hey.] Delete. [Hello!] Delete. [Morning.] Delete. Why was this so hard?! He threw himself back onto his bed while glaring at his phone. Alright, just type something and send it.

[ :3 ]

[Is that supposed to be a cat face?]

Adrien leaped up in his bed. She responded! The questions he wanted to ask her started pooling in his mind but he stopped his fingers before he said anything. Play it cool.

[Purrhaps. ;3]  
[Oh my god you're awful.]  
[Don't you mean _claw_ ful?]  
[I regret giving you my number.]  
[Meouch, Purrincess has claws.]  
[Please stop.]  
[I guess, since I'm feline nice today.]  
[I'm blocking your number.]  
[Nooo, don't _pun_ ish me like that!]  
[Oh my god, Adrien.]  
[Admit it, you're laughing over there.]  
[I might be. :P]

Adrien sat on his bed smiling like an idiot. For the next hour they were texting back and forth talking about random things like favorite colors, movies, books, etc. Typical things people ask one another to try and get to know someone. The whole time though he wanted to ask her if she was okay, if she was hurt, if Félix really was abusing her. He wanted to beg her to admit that there was a problem and ask for help. He wanted to come to where she was, beat the shit out of her husband, and take her as far away from him as possible. He wanted to save her like she saved him. After that hour she said she had to leave and take care of some things, saying she'd text him again once she had the time to.

The blond laid on his bed for a few minutes afterwards holding his phone to his chest. He felt like he was back in highschool with some schoolyard crush. The next two weeks were the same with the two of them texting back and forth whenever they could, every time Adrien would want to ask her if she was okay but something always stopped him. Maybe he just wanted to keep the conversation happy or pretend that it wasn't actually happening, he didn't know. But by the end of each day when they'd say good night he'd hold his phone to his lips desperately wishing it was her.

At the start of week three it was like she suddenly vanished. He sent her his usual good morning text but there was never any response. Sometimes, surprisingly, he'd wake up before her so he was used to waiting at most an hour for her reply but after three he started to worry. Mid day he sent a message to Alya.

[Hey, have you tried to contact Mari today?]  
[Yeah, but she hasn't responded. It's sort of normal, though. There are days where she's completely silent but she usually get's back to me the next day.]

The rocker sighed, sitting down on his couch. He didn't like thinking about what could cause such sudden radio silence on Marinette's end. Of course it could be nothing but he seriously doubted that. He picked up his guitar, strumming out a few random chords to try and distract himself from his thoughts. It worked for a while until Alya started calling him.

"Hel-"  
"Is Marinette with you?"  
"What? No, why?"  
"Damn it."

Click.

Adrien stared down at his phone wide eyed after Alya hung up. "What…?" He could feel his heart start racing in his chest as he started rushing around his apartment looking for his jacket and his keys. He had no idea what was going on but if Marinette was missing then he was about to tear the city apart trying to find her. Throwing his jacket over his shoulders and swung open his door only to freeze on the spot. Standing on the other side of the threshold was the bluenette with her hand raised like she was about to knock on the door. Silently they stared each other down, both a little stunned to see the other, and Adrien took a moment to look her over.

She seemed thinner than the last time he saw her, like she hadn't been eating enough and there were dark bags under her empty eyes. Her knuckles looked worn like she had been hitting them against something repeatedly and he could spot just under her sleeve thin red lines on her wrist. "I couldn't...I can't...I had to get away…" She managed as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. "I had to get away from him and you were the first person I thought of."

He couldn't stop himself. As she spoke he stepped forward to wrap his arms tightly around her, holding her like his life depended on it. She completely broke down in his embrace as she clung to his jacket while she sobbed into his chest. Adrien did his best to sooth her, running his hand over her back as he rested his head on top of hers. "It's alright, it's okay." He whispered to her, slowly starting to sway side to side as she gradually calmed down. Eventually they pulled apart from each other just enough to lock eyes and from there the next minute happened in slow motion for Marinette.

She had started to lean upwards towards him, her eyes flashing down to look at his lips before looking back up into those swirling emeralds. She could feel her heart hammering away as she watched him mimic her, leaning in towards her as well. When his breath hit her lips her own caught in her throat. She shouldn't be doing this, not yet, but for some reason it felt so right to her. They hesitated for a moment longer as Marinette started to get lost in what was happening. She was so focused that she barely registered the sound of the elevator dinging in the hallway they stood in.

Their lips connected as the elevator doors opened and it felt like fireworks were exploding in her body. His were surprisingly soft though she could taste the tobacco from his cigarettes. She never wanted the moment to end but suddenly Adrien was spinning them around. Her back was now facing his apartment while his faced the elevator down the hall. Then she heard it. Her ears were ringing as what she at first thought was thunderclap boomed loudly throughout the hallway. The sound shook her to the core because there weren't any storms going on tonight. Adrien choked against her lips.

A new taste mingled with the tobacco. Copper? She pulled back to see all the color drained from Adrien's face. He stood petrified like he just saw a ghost. "Adri-" Marinette didn't get a chance to finish asking if he was okay. He choked once more, this time the blood that he was coughing up came sputtering out of his lips. She felt the warm liquid splatter across her features as Adrien crumpled to the floor. Standing behind him in front of the elevator was Félix, arm outstretched, and gun smoking. "Adrien…?" She whimpered, standing there in a state of shock as she slowly lowered her head to look at the blond bleeding on the floor.

" _ **ADRIEN!**_ "


	7. Stay Alive, Stay Alive For Me

**A/N:** I am so sorry that this chapter took me so long to get out. I promise I wasn't purposefully trying to drag out the suspense, this last week was just very busy for me. So I'll try not to keep you waiting much longer with a long Author's Note. R &R, thank you all so much for sticking with this story and giving me all the lovely support, I'll be back soon with another chapter! XOXO

* * *

' _Don't black out. Don't black out. You have to stay awake. What happened?'_

He remembered opening his door and Marinette standing there. She said that she had to get away from her husband and that she thought of Adrien first. He remembered not being able to stop himself from hugging her and trying to calm her down. And then he felt his heart stopping when they kissed. It felt like being shocked with a thousand volts of electricity the moment their lips touched. He had been so nervous about actually doing it because she was married and they still didn't know each other enough to warrant such an action. But she had leaned in so he started to as well; just something about it seemed to fit so perfectly.

' _Stop closing your eyes. Fuck, has breathing always been this hard?'_

Adrien heard the elevator go off behind her and had opened his eyes to see who had followed her up. He had been expecting Alya but when he saw Félix his mind went blank. That was the last person he had been expecting to catch him kissing Marinette. Nor was he planning on her husband to be holding a gun in his hands. His first thought had been to protect Marinette, keep her safe and alive. In his mind his life was hers to forfeit just as long as she was okay.

' _Damn it Adrien stay awake! Don't. Black. Out.'_

He didn't really feel it at first. The adrenaline coursing through his body had dulled the initial shock. It wasn't until he tried to take his first breath after the fact that all of the pain racked his body. Muscles had been ripped apart and his lungs felt like they were on fire plus something felt like it was broken. He wanted to scream out but he started coughing instead and instantly he could taste blood. What was worse was watching as it spread over Marinette's face.

' _What's going on?'_

He could hear screaming and yelling going on around him, but he couldn't make out much of what was being said. He knew that Marinette was calling out to him so the other voice had to be Félix. He couldn't hear any details but he assumed Félix was trying to get her to leave. Adrien started fading out of consciousness for a brief moment but brought himself back when he heard a scuffle going on next to him followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. They were fighting, he guessed, but he was starting to fade out again.

' _Marinette…'_

Adrien snapped back to conscious with the sound of another gunshot. No, no, no this can't be happening! She's supposed to be okay! He has to get up, he has to- He's stopped in his attempts by coughing again, feeling more blood come up than last time. That's not important, though, make sure that Marinette is still safe. A hand suddenly rested on his shoulder. "Adrien!? Adrien don't move, I'm calling an ambulance!" Wait, she's okay? Then who shot the gun? Doesn't matter, she's okay, she's fine, she's alive. He closed his eyes once more relieved to know that she was safe.

' _Thank God.'_

 **-oOo-**

The sound of a heart monitor beeping next to him was the first thing Adrien heard when he came to in the hospital. He tried to take in a deep breath but winced as he only expanded his lungs maybe halfway before they started hurting. Alright, short breaths it is. Slowly he opened his eyes, squinting as the bright lights flooded his vision, hissing a little as his eyes adjusted. Eventually he was able to open them enough to actually look around the room.

Blindingly white walls, a bunch of different medical equipment, monitors, and a bluenette asleep in the chair next to him. It wasn't until he stared at the top of her head, that being the only thing he could see as she was folded over on the bed, that he remembered why he was even in here. Adrien smiled softly at her, lifting his hand up to gently run it over her hair. As he did so he looked her over the best that he could, making sure she didn't have any cuts or bruises, when he noticed that she had taken her wedding ring off. Good.

His hand jumped when he heard her murmur something in her sleep, turning her head around to face him while her eyes fluttered open. There was a moment of recognition before she practically shot up in her seat. "Adrien!" She exclaimed with a wide smile, tears instantly forming at the corners of her eyes. "Oh thank God, I was so worried." She said, reaching out for his hand which he took happily. "Good morning to you too, Princess." Adrien rasped out with a light laugh. Man he needed some water or something.

She smirked at him, shaking her head a little bit. They were silent for a few moments before he spoke up again. "What happened afterwards? I heard another gunshot go off, are you alright?" He asked her finally, again quickly scanning over her to see if he could spot any bandages. Marinette nodded, tightening her hold on his hand in an attempt to calm him. "Yeah, no I'm fine. I...after he...shot, you he tried to drag me away with him but I fought back. In the process he dropped his gun and then I…" She paused, taking in a deep breath. "I got to it before he did and…" She trailed off, apparently unable to finish what she was saying but Adrien was able to put two and two together.

"Is he…?"  
"No, I think I only grazed his arm. But it was enough to cause him to run. I didn't bother following him, I was more worried about you."  
"I see. Has he been caught?"  
"No… no one knows where he is, but they're looking."

Adrien nodded quietly, looking down into his lap. The thought that Félix was still out there made him sick to his stomach but he had to trust the authorities with this. They'll find him, he just has to be patient. It's not like he could go after the guy right now anyway despite the fact that he really wanted to. He heard Marinette let out a long sigh so he lifted his head to look up at her. "You shouldn't have done that, Adrien...I was so scared…" She whispered.

"Hey…" He lifted her hand up as he kept speaking, his breath hitting her knuckles. "Just cause I 'shouldn't have' doesn't mean I wouldn't do it again in a heartbeat. I will do anything to keep you safe." When he finished he pressed a soft kiss against her fingers. "But why? We've only just started to get to know one another and that's no-" She was cut off by him putting a finger over her lips. "You saved my life once, Marinette." He moved his hand up a bit more to cup her cheek. "That's more than enough of a reason for me."

Marinette was beaming at him. Sure, she was still completely mad at him for using himself as a meat shield, but it was clear by the look in his eyes that she'd never be able to talk him out of being so reckless. "You're an idiot…" She breathed out, nuzzling into his hand. "Probably." He joked back, running his thumb over her cheek softly. Should they be this affectionate to each other already? Two weeks of texting back and forth almost non stop plus a few small encounters with each other physically doesn't usually lead to something like this. It just felt so normal, like they should have been doing this from the beginning.

Eventually Marinette carefully pulled his hand off to lay it on the bed next to him. "I need to go tell the nurses you've woken up, and I'm sure Nino and Alya want to know too." She said, standing up and turning to leave. The bluenette paused when she noticed an odd look crossed his features but she couldn't tell if he was sad or worried. "I'll be right back, Minou." She said with a smirk, reaching out to gently scratch at the top of his head. He relaxed a little at her words, leaning his head up into her fingers. Quickly she dropped her hand and stepped out of the room, sending him one last smile before disappearing into the hallway.

 **-oOo-**

A few days later he was finally released from the hospital with some powerful painkillers and a doctor's order to stay in bed as much as possible, keep the cigarettes to a minimum, and no shows until the broken rib was healed as it would take longer than the collapsed lung he suffered from thanks to the bullet wound. Nino drove him back to his apartment and Adrien was glad to see that the landlord had cleaned up the mess out in the hallway. His friend helped him get inside even with the blond saying he'd be fine on his own.

The drummer was pretty persistent, though, getting him settled in on his couch. "Alright, you need me to grab you anything, run to the store for you or something?" Nino asked as Adrien slowly shifted to lay down completely on the sofa. "Nino, seriously, I'm fine. The doctor didn't say I was going to need twenty-four hour assistance. Go home, dude." The blond said with a quick smile. Nino paused for a moment before he let out a sigh. "Yeah, alright. Just, shoot me a text or something if you need help." Adrien grinned. "Yup, thanks for getting me home. I'll see you later."

Nino nodded, tossing him a quick wave before walking out of the apartment and shutting the door behind him. Adrien, now alone with his thoughts, cast his gaze up to his ceiling. Gradually his eyes shifted to stare at his pack of smokes resting on the coffee table. He reached out for them but paused as his fingers touched the box. "I already had a hole in my lungs…" He muttered as he dropped his hand to the floor. What was he supposed to do now that he was basically on bed rest for the next six weeks?

With a grunt he lifted himself up to a sitting position, carefully swinging his feet around to plant on the floor. Just as he was about to stand his phone went off, alerting him to a new text message. He fished his phone out of his pocket to look at who it was but he was left a little confused as the message was from a number he hadn't seen before. Opening it up he was surprised to read that it was from Marinette.

[Hey, make it home alright, Minou? I got a new phone/number since the police haven't found Félix yet.]  
[Yeah, all safe and sound. Nino took me home.]

Adrien leaned back onto his couch, smiling down at his phone. It was a little adorable how much she cared for him.

[You hungry? I'm staying with my parents for now and they have some left overs from the bakery I could bring you.]  
[That sounds amazing.]  
[Good, I'll be there soon!]

The guitarist dropped his phone lightly onto his chest and went back to staring at his ceiling with a wide smile. Part of him wondered if he should be worried about how fast his heart was beating. Moving as slowly as he could he pushed himself off his couch after placing his phone onto the cushions and did his best to clean up his apartment. Not that it was dirty by any means but for some reason the idea of Marinette actually being _inside_ made him feel like everything had to be perfect. He wasn't able to do much but he was somewhat satisfied with the result by the time he heard a faint knock on his door.

Opening up the door he was greeted with the sight of Marinette standing there wearing a lightweight, black sweater with the words 'Meow' written across it in bold green. Hiding underneath it was a matching green skirt that fell just above her knees along with a pair of black flats. She had a woven basket hooked over her arm, the scent of freshly baked goods quickly wafting up to invade Adrien's senses. Before he had a chance to verbally greet her his stomach growled loudly, causing the blond to instantly flush a bright red as Marinette held her free hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh. "I hope I brought you enough food." She teased.

"I'm just gonna go hide in my bedroom and never come out." Adrien said with a low groan, stepping aside so Marinette could enter his apartment. She giggled lightly at his words. "Aww, don't be embarrassed." She said sweetly as she walked inside, Adrien closing the door behind her. Marinette moved to his couch as she looked about his living room. It looked much nicer than she expected the apartment of some rocker to look like, neatly organized and actually decorated. Mostly with various posters but they were framed which made it look a bit nicer than having them just tacked to the wall.

Sitting down on his couch Adrien followed after her but paused before sitting down. "Ah, can I get you anything to drink?" She smiled up at him with a nod. "Just some water, please." He nodded, walking into his kitchen to grab a pair of glasses and filled them both up with ice and water. When he returned she had set the basket down on his coffee table and had started to unload a few containers full of different pastries, mini quiches, cookies, and the like. "How much did you bring?" He asked wide eyed as he sat down next to her, setting the glasses down. "Well, I figured whatever we didn't eat now you could just save and have to snack on later."

"Thank you." He said softly. Marinette felt a soft blush dusted her cheeks but she ignored it to finish setting out all the food. From there the pair happily dug into all the food that she had brought over, Adrien feeling like he'd melt with how delicious everything was. "Oh my god, all of this is amazing, I might just go move into their bakery." He said, nearly moaning out happily with his cheeks full of quiche. It took all of her self control not to choke on her own food in laughter.

As they continued eating they'd occasionally pause whenever a topic of conversation broke out between them. Adrien loved how easy it was to talk with her and was glad to notice how comfortable she was around him. It seemed that they shared a lot of common interests but a small portion of him wondered if they truly did. All of that conditioning from Félix may have taught her to say that she liked things she really didn't just to appease someone else. He didn't want any of that, he wanted to know the real Marinette, so he did his best to focus on anything that made her unique. When the conversation ever took a turn towards something that only she really liked he made sure to pay extra attention and would urge her to elaborate more on them. It was a small gift to himself to watch how she would light up taking about something like fashion design, a hobby she had stuck with after Félix pushed her down a different career path.

She'd become so animated, moving her hands about in the air as she spoke, mimicking certain motions whenever she'd talk about a certain kind of stitching. Some of this he remembered sort of when he modeled for his father but it was much different coming from Marinette. "So, do you have a favorite designer? Like, someone you look up to or that you're inspired by?" He had asked at one point. She paused for a moment to think it over. "Well, for the longest time I had always really liked the designs from Gabriel Agreste." Adrien's heart stopped. "But a few years ago, after some family issue he kept secret from the public, his work sort of took an odd turn. He lost a lot of his popularity and I think he announced his retirement after the fashion week last year."

Adrien chewed on his inner cheek at this news. After walking out on his father he didn't really keep tabs or check up on him. They still hadn't said a single word to one another since that night. Did his leaving really cause his father to retire? He doubted it, it wasn't like his father was really the emotional type anyway. Marinette seemed to notice that something was bothering him, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked, snapping him out of his thoughts to look at her. "Yeah, no, I'm fine. Sorry, the painkillers they gave me have me spacing out from time to time." He lied. She probably didn't buy it but she didn't press the issue either.

When they had finished eating, despite Adrien insisting that he put everything away, Marinette forced him to stay on the couch as she took everything to his kitchen and placed the food in his fridge. On her way back to the living she pulled out her phone to check the time, shocked to discover how much time had passed. "Oh, wow, I didn't realize how late it was. I should probably head home." She said as she picked up the now empty basket. Adrien pushed himself off the couch, although he was a bit sad to have her leave. Part of him was tempted to ask her to stay but it was a bit too soon for that.

He walked her towards the door, opening it up for her. "Thank you for coming by, and for all the food. I can't wait for breakfast in the morning." He said with a wide smile. She returned it happily. "Anytime. And if you need anything don't hesitate to call me, I'd be happy to come by and help you out. It's the least I can do since...you know." She muttered, trailing off a little at the end of her sentence. The guitarist let out a small sigh, pulling her to his chest with one arm around her waist. "Stop feeling bad. It's not your fault. I told you, I'd do it all over again if I had to." Marinette was quiet as she rested her forehead against his chest, nodding slowly but she still felt like what had happened to him had been completely her fault.

The whole reason she had even shown up at his apartment that night was because Félix had seen all of the text messages they had been sending to each other. Of course, to her, they were completely innocent but according to him she was clearly cheating on him. It probably didn't help that when he had followed her she was kissing the man she claimed she wasn't having an affair with. If she hadn't of let her emotions get in the way and gone somewhere else then Adrien would have been fine.

Slowly she pulled out of his embrace, managing a smile, and took a few steps back. "Good night, Adrien." She said softly, raising her hand up in a quick wave. "Good night, Marinette." His voice matched her own as he spoke in an almost whisper. She turned and made her way towards the elevator, holding her finger over the button to call the metal box up. Adrien stood in the doorway, watching as she walked down the hall for a few seconds, his fingers drumming on the door frame. When the doors opened and she stepped inside he leaned back into his apartment and shut the door, turning to lean his back against the wood.

"That...was probably one of those moments where I should have kissed her…" He mumbled to himself. He had wanted to, so badly, but he wasn't quite sure if he should have. And especially since their first one ended so poorly a do over was certainly needed. Maybe it was just the hopeless romantic side of him that wanted it to be special? Who knows. With a yawn and dragged his feet towards his bedroom and carefully collapsed onto his mattress, being careful of his ribs.

 **-oOo-**

The next morning Nino walked up to Adrien's apartment building, pausing before entering the building as something lying on the sidewalk caught his eye. "Who the hell leaves an empty basket in the middle of the sidewalk?" He asked himself with a raised brow, walking inside with a quick shake of his head.

* * *

 **A/N:** Probably should have warned you the suspense is not over!


	8. Crash Course In Pain

**A/N: Warning!** So this is the darkest of dark chapter. There is violence, blood though not super descriptive, and SERIOUSLY IMPLIED (as in it happens I just don't go into explicit detail) rape. And also a blood thirsty Adrien who temporarily snaps. ENJOY! I'll see you all in the next chapter, R &R please and thank you. And I'm sorry the fight scene isn't hella wicked, fight scenes are one of my weak points in writing, but I push myself anyway. XOXO, love you all!

* * *

Adrien pushed himself off the floor he had been laying on with a low groan, not a pained groan, just an exhausted one. As he straightened up he swished around the mixture of saliva and blood that had been pooling inside his mouth, making sure to collect as much of it as he could, before he spat it out onto the concrete beneath him. His gaze leveled with Félix who was standing a few feet away with his gun pointing directly at Adrien's chest. For a brief moment he broke eye contact to look down at the multiple glass shards currently sticking out of his arm. Slowly he pulled out the major pieces, not bothering with all the small ones. This _should_ hurt. Honestly he should be in massive amounts of pain.

But luckily, or possibly unluckily, he had taken enough pain killers before arriving at this warehouse to completely fry his nervous system temporarily. He hoped it was temporary. Either way right now he couldn't feel a damned thing and he was more than grateful for that fact. So grateful it just made this whole situation ridiculous and a little amusing. Or maybe it was the fact that he was practically on the verge of overdosing and therefore pretty fucking high that made everything funny?

"Do it." He said with a light chuckle, bending over to pick up his previously discarded weapon, a worn metal rod. "Shoot me. You didn't kill me last time, you really think you're going to pull it off this time?" Adrien asked as his small chuckle quickly erupted into full blown laughter.

Félix honestly didn't know the answer to that question. He was standing across from the cackling guitarist with a broken arm and an eye that he couldn't see out of due to the blood streaming out of his forehead and the right hook he had taken to the temple. Not to mention the _rest_ of the injuries he was currently suffering from due to the nasty brawl he and Adrien had just scrambled out of. But that wasn't why he was so unsure.

It was the fact that the man who was doubled over in laughter on the other side of his gun could _not_ be human. He had to still be in pain from the last bullet Félix put in him, not to mention rebreaking the rocker's rib and the glass in his arm or the fight they just had; Adrien shouldn't be standing! And he especially shouldn't be laughing like a maniac. Félix was snapped from his unnerving thoughts at the sound of Adrien smacking his metal rod against the concrete. "Come on." The rocker urged, stepping closer.

For each step Adrien took he would hit the ground, the sound echoing throughout the warehouse. "Do it. Shoot me. You can't miss." The rocker taunted, repeating those words as he continued to approach the other. Félix swallowed harshly as he tried to still his trembling arm and line up the sights of his gun dead on with where Adrien's heart should be, but his finger never moved towards the trigger. He was too lost in his thoughts as Adrien was finally close enough to lean against the barrel of the gun. 'Who the hell walks _into_ a gun _asking_ to be killed?' Félix asked himself as they stared each other down.

"Do it." Adrien's voice had lost it's playful, humour filled tone. It was emotionless and void just like the endless pits of his eyes. His hand reached for the muzzle, taking hold of the gun and guiding it up just to press it against his own forehead. Félix was frozen in place as he watched this happen.

" _ **SHOOT ME!**_ " Adrien roared.

Félix jumped, startled by the sudden shout, and squeezed the trigger.

 **-oOo-**

 _12:45 AM, that previous night_

Marinette stepped out of the elevator with her hands clasped over her chest and the widest smile she'd worn in years. For the first time in what had seemed like an eternity she felt like she could actually be herself around someone and not feel ashamed about it. To be able to just lose oneself for hours in conversation without constantly having to filter yourself or make sure you said the right thing was incredible. And Adrien had been so kind and gentle with her the whole night eagerly taking interest in everything she had to say. It was a little foreign to her, someone showing genuine interest in her hobbies, but she wasn't going to complain.

She stepped out onto the sidewalk, the crisp night air washing over her to quickly send a shiver down her spine. She hugged herself as she wrapped her arms across her chest and turned to make her way home when a voice froze her on the spot. "Late night with your new boyfriend?" Félix. Slowly she moved to face him, her not legally yet but definitely EX, husband standing before her. How did he know that she'd be here? She bought a new phone so he wouldn't be able to track her anymore, so had he been stalking her this whole time? Or had he been hiding out near Adrien's apartment just waiting for her to show up eventually? Neither scenario was preferable.

"You shouldn't be here." She muttered, taking a few steps back from him. What she really wanted to do was run back inside the apartment building but Félix simply stepped closer to quickly block her path to the doors. "You should turn yourself in." Marinette warned, her hand moving to her purse to reach for her phone. She had to get help. "If you had just been a good girl then none of this would even be happening right now. We could be living the perfect, happy life I had set up for us, and everything would be normal." Félix said as he continued to approach her. "Won't you come back to me?"

"Perfect? Happy?! My life with you was a nightmare! It's over, Félix!" Marinette spat out at him angrily. He frowned. "Wrong choice." He said, voice frighteningly calm. In an instant he took hold of her, one arm around her waist while his other hand moved to cover her mouth and nose with a damp rag. What was that smell? It smelled...sweet? As she struggled against him, deeply inhaling whatever it was soaked onto the rag she could feel herself start to pass out. She tried to call out for anyone to come help her but her energy was fading fast and before she knew it she fell limp into Félix's arms.

 _5:30 AM_

Adrien woke up groggily to the sound of his phone ringing. Who the hell calls this early in the morning? Tiredly his hand fumbled around over his nightstand until it eventually found his phone, his eyes straining against the bright screen as he read the caller ID. Marinette? His thumb swiped over the screen as he pulled it to his ear. "Marinette? Is something wrong?"

"Oh, absolutely." That was _not_ Marinette on the other end. Despite the shooting pain in his ribs Adrien bolted up off his mattress. "Félix, you bastard, what have you done to her?!" He shouted. He was answered by laughter and Adrien growled lowly. "Nothing, yet. She just woke up and I wanted you to listen to this." His words were quickly followed by the sound of a loud slap, Marinette shrieking in the background. "I told you to stay away from her, but you just couldn't keep your filthy paws off her, could you?" Félix asked. Another slap and another cry followed. Faintly Adrien could hear as Marinette started sobbing.

Adrien felt sick to his stomach, his chest tightening beyond the point of being able to breath. "I swear to god I will find you and when I do I'm going to live up to my promise." He threatened lowly. Félix started laughing again. "No you won't. You're going to be a good little boy and listen to your doctor. You can't do anything with a busted rib and a barely functioning lung." The venom that laced Félix's voice was maddening. "You know what else you're going to do? You're going to stay on the phone with me as I follow through with a promise I made to Marinette here."

"What?" Adrien asked as his throat went dry. "You see, she belongs to me, she knows this. So when I caught her at your show I warned her that if I ever saw her with you again I'd show her _why_ she belongs to me."

"Félix, no! Don't do this!" Marinette pleaded in the background before all Adrien could hear on the phone was the sound of her screaming. "And what do I catch her doing? Making out with you. So, as a man of my word…" He trailed off as Marinette started screaming once more, begging for Félix to stop whatever it was that he was doing. Silent tears started to roll down Adrien's cheeks as his knees buckled underneath of him. He crumpled onto his bedroom floor as he listened to Félix set the phone down before proceeding with whatever torture he was putting Marinette through. The sound of a steady rocking started to fill his ears.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

ThumpThumpThumpThumpThump.

Horror filled Adrien to his core. Félix wasn't beating her he was...he was ra-. Adrien didn't get a chance to nor did he want to finish that thought as he barely managed to make it to his bedside waste bin to grossly empty the contents of his stomach. The sounds of Félix repeatedly violating Marinette as she cried out for it to stop, for Adrien to come save her, were daggers to his heart. But he couldn't, he had no idea where they were. Deep depression started to overtake the rocker as he curled up into a ball on his floor, forcing himself to stay on the phone until it was over. He felt so useless and he hated himself for it. He had told her he would do anything to keep her safe and the weight of his failure was crushing. "I'm so sorry, Marinette…" he whimpered into the phone.

 _10:25 AM_

Nino walked up to the apartment building, pausing before entering the building as something lying on the sidewalk caught his eye. "Who the hell leaves an empty basket in the middle of the sidewalk?" He asked himself with a raised brow, walking inside. Humming to himself he slipped into the elevator and quickly rode it up to the top floor, stepping out and walking the very short distance from it to Adrien's door. "Adrien! Wake up, I'm taking you to breakfast!" He shouted as he knocked on the door. It was quiet on the other side causing Nino to let out a sigh, Adrien was probably still dead asleep.

 **Thunk.** What the hell? **Thunk.** Nino let himself in. **Thunk.** The door opened to reveal Adrien's apartment had been completely trashed. **Thunk.** Glass from broken poster frames covered the floor and holes looked like they had been punched into the walls. **Thunk.** As the drummer moved through the destroyed apartment he followed the noise traveling out from Adrien's bedroom. **Thunk.** Slowly he pushed open the bedroom door. **Thunk.** "Adrien what the fuck?!" Nino exclaimed as he rushed inside.

Adrien was sitting on the floor holding his knees tightly to his chest as he endlessly ran his head into the edge of the nightstand. His eyes were unfocused, blankly staring at the floor, and there was a small trail of blood running down the side of his head from the repeated abuse against the furniture. Nino attempted to snap him out of it with his voice until he noticed the headphones dangling out of the guitarist's ears. Quickly Nino took hold of Adrien's head to stop him from hitting it again as he pulled out one of the earbuds. "What the hell is going on, what happened to your apartment?!"

"I have to find them…" Adrien muttered, still not looking at Nino. "Find who?! Adrien, snap the fuck out of it!" Nino said as he shook the rocker violently. "Félix!" Adrien finally shouts, startling his friend who rocks back on his heels. "What?" He asked, a little dumbfounded. "Félix took Marinette last night. He called me on her phone and he… I have to find her before he does anything else to her."

"No, you need to call the police." Nino tried to reason. "And how are they going to help?!" Adrien snapped back. "I was out cold for three days, stuck in the hospital for another three. That's basically a week they had to find this fucker and they didn't! Now he's got her tied up in some warehouse somewhere in the city and she needs my _help_!" His voice was shaking as he barely was able to contain all of the emotions that had been boiling up over the long morning. For the last five hours he had been listening to that phone call over and over again trying to pick up on all of the background noise so he could attempt to figure out where they were.

He assumed a warehouse given the echo and it had to be near a train track because one passed by in the recording. But there were three he could think of near two possible tracks both of which had trains coming through the city at 5:30 so he needed something else to help narrow it down to at least two. He wasn't making any leeway on that project, though, and was instead slowly driving himself insane. His only other option would to be visiting all three warehouses and hope he finds the right one in time.

Nino was still trying to reason with him but Adrien had already started tuning his friend out. Finally he picked up something in the recording that gave him the last bit of information he needed; the warning bells that alerted traffic to a train crossing the street. The rocker bolted up, nearly knocking Nino over in the process, and dashed over to his computer. With a few quick keystrokes he had the address of the only warehouse near an area that would sound any kind of similar to what he heard in background. Of course it was way in the outskirts of the city; something close by would be too easy. "Oh I'm going to kill him." He growled.

"Woah, woah, woah." Nino said, quickly taking hold of Adrien before the blond could run off anywhere. "I swear to god if you don't call the police about this I will. I don't know what the hell he had you listen to but it's not worth going to jail over." He said. "Then you better hope they get there before I do." Adrien said as he shrugged his friends hands off his shoulders and marched out of his apartment, grabbing his bottle of painkillers in the process.

 _Noon_

Marinette was out of tears to shed as she lay shaking strapped to a cold metal table. Her sweater had been cut open, her bra torn off, her skirt ripped apart, and her panties hastily pushed aside. She could feel with each breath her bruises aching against her skin. Caked up blood cracked open if she tried to move too much or pull against her restraints. So many thoughts raced through her head as Félix hovered over her. Why did she ever agree to that first date with this guy, let alone marry him? Why didn't she just stay at Adrien's apartment last night since it was so late? How was she going to get out of here? Would she ever get out of here? Would Adrien come save her?

The bluenette jumped as Félix rested a hand on her stomach, running it up and down her abdomen slowly. "What should I do with you next?" He mused outloud to himself. "Félix please...stop this…" She whimpered, her voice hoarse from screaming. Just as Félix opened his mouth to say something a separate voice came out from behind him. "You should listen to her." Félix spun around just to be sent flying sideways by Adrien's fist. He barely has a chance to straighten up when he receives another punch to the gut, followed by a knee to the face.

He falls backwards with a grunt, head spinning, and Adrien leans down to grab him by the collar of his shirt. As he's pulled back up Félix swings his hand around to punch Adrien in the ribs. He watches as the air is forced out of the rocker's lungs but it doesn't look like he's really registering the pain. Quickly Félix slams his forearms down onto Adrien's arms to get him to let go. From there he grabbed Adrien by the collar and swiftly headbutted him, sending the rocker stumbling back some.

At that point Marinette had to strain her neck to attempt to watch the rest of their fight. The two behaved like feral animals, grappling one another as they each tried to inflict the most damage possible to one another. Félix managed to grip Adrien by the hair and flung him into an already damaged window pane looking into a separate room. The rest of it shattered around him as he collapsed onto the ground. As Félix jumped on top of the rocker, proceeding to punch Adrien repeatedly in the face, Adrien reached a hand out to a nearby metal rod and promptly brought it up to smash it into the side of Félix's head.

Félix barely managed to defend himself from the blow, raising up his arm just before the rod connected. Instead it hit his arm, the force of the blow enough to fill his ears with the sound of his forearm cracking. He howled out in pain, scrambling off the guitarist. He made a dash back to where he had Marinette tied up, his gun resting on a stack of boxes next to her. Adrien stood, spitting out a sizeable amount of blood.

 _Now that we're all caught up._

 **-oOo-**

" _ **SHOOT ME!**_ " Adrien roared.

Félix jumped, startled by the sudden shout, and squeezed the trigger.

' _How did I miss?'_ Félix asked himself in the half second moment between him pulling the trigger and Adrien sending him to the ground unconscious with a blow to the head with the metal rod he had been holding. Right before Félix pulled the trigger Adrien, with his hand still on the gun, ducked low while pushing Félix's hand upwards so he was safely out of the way. Directly after the gun going off he swung the metal rod up right into Félix's head.

Adrien followed Félix to the ground, pinning Félix beneath him as he started ramming his fists rapidly into the unconscious man's face. "Adrien!" Marinette shouted, trying to snap him out of his bloodlust. "Adrien stop!" He paused, taking a moment to look over the broken and bloodied face he'd just been pummeling. "It's over now, Adrien. It's okay." She said softly. Slowly he rose back up to his feet and turned to look at Marinette. He made his way over to her, releasing her from the bonds that kept her strapped to the table.

The moment she was free her arms flew up to wrap around him tightly as she bursted out into tears. He hugged her just as tightly, burying his face into the crook of her neck. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Marinette" He managed, containing his own tears just so he could be strong for her. They remained like that for a few moments, occasionally he'd whisper that he was sorry again. When they finally pulled apart Adrien realized the state of her clothing, quickly averting his gaze as he pulled his shirt off to hand it to her.

She took it with a quiet nod, peeling off the tattered remains of her sweater before slipping his shirt on. It was pretty big for her, falling to hit her thighs. Once she had pulled it over her head she took a moment to look Adrien over. "Are you okay?" She asked softly, her hands reaching out to touch the multiple bruises and cuts on his torso. "Probably not, but I can't tell right now." He muttered. Just as he was about to suggest calling an ambulance or the police or both the sound of sirens outside caught his attention. "Of course, Nino…" He breathed out with a laugh.


	9. My Princess

The following weeks had been a flurry for Adrien and Marinette. First it was the trip to the hospital directly after everything happened. Adrien's wounds were worse than he had let on but he wasn't aware of how bad they were thanks to all of the painkillers he had taken. They were hesitant to give him any more, worried about what effects it might have in his body if he took any more than he already had. He was forced to wait for the previous ones to completely leave his system before they did anything to help with the rest of the pain.

When he was finally released from the hospital, Marinette visiting him as often as often as she could, it was then he had to deal with the questioning police. He felt like he was a broken record telling them the exact same story. He said he went to the warehouse with the intent of talking Félix down when the fight broke out and Félix brandished his gun. It wasn't the complete truth but it was close enough and Marinette and Nino backed him up completely.

Then there was actually getting Félix in jail which meant a trial, lawyers, more questions, and just all around stress. During it all Adrien did nothing but worry about Marinette. She put on a brave face around everyone but he knew she was struggling. Just like how she hid what went on with Félix she was hiding her battle with dealing with what happened. But it wasn't like he could force her to talk about it, he knew she didn't want to relive the experience again after having to recount what happened multiple times already. So he just made sure that he was always there for her incase she needed him.

When the dust finally began to settle almost a month later, Félix locked up for the rest of his life, the night came where she broke down. He didn't know what caused it but she came over to his apartment already on the verge of tears. "Mari, what's wrong?" He asked as he let her in. She didn't say anything, though, instead just wrapping her arms around his torso as she erupted into a sobbing mess. Instantly he started to fill with worry, thinking something had happened to her. Carefully he scooped her up into his arms, kicking his door closed, and carried her over to his couch.

Nino had helped him repair the holes in his walls, though they needed some new paint. Now there were white splotches where the new plaster was. He bought new frames for his posters and hung them back up. As he set her down she clung to his shirt, apparently not wanting any distance between them. So instead he moved so he was sitting down on the couch and kept her cradled in his arms. "Princess, talk to me." He whispered lowly, gently running his hand over her hair.

"I was so scared…" She managed between sobs. "I didn't...I didn't know what he was going to do and when he...I couldn't stop him." Adrien faltered, his hands balling up into fists as she spoke. She had been screaming for him to help her that night and he'd been unable to do anything but lay on his floor uselessly. "I begged and pleaded for him to stop and now…" She took in a shaky breath trying to bury her face deeper into his chest despite how impossible that seemed. "Now he's all I see when I close my eyes…" Marinette whimpered. "I can't sleep without seeing his face or hearing his laugh."

Adrien let out a slow breath as he started to rock her back and forth on the couch. "I'm sorry, Marinette. I should have been there for you, walked you home, or something. I told you that I would keep you safe and I…" He paused, peeling her face off his chest so he could meet her eyes with his own. "I need to make things right. I want to make things right and help you move past this." Gently he managed to sit her down on the couch so he could move to the floor on his knees in front of her. She stared at him curiously, calmed down enough to just a few sniffles, and he took hold of her hands. "I… I want to make new memories for you, treat you like the princess I think you are." He leaned forward, resting his head against their joined hands. "But only if you'll let me." He whispered.

"Minou…" She breathed out, looking down at him softly. Marinette freed up one hand from his grasp to comb her fingers through his hair. A small, warm smile spread over her face as he looked up at her. "Let's start with that coffee date?" She asked weakly, resting her hand on his cheek. He smiled back at her, moving his now free hand up to rest above hers as he nuzzled into her touch. "Yeah."

 **-oOo-**

The next day, sometime around the early afternoon, Adrien walked out of the Metro station closest to the bakery Marinette's parents owned. She was still living with them for now although plans were already being made for her to move in with Alya. He was holding in his hand three small daisy's, refraining himself from buying a whole bouquet since this was just coffee. He knocked on the door to the apartment above the bakery and was meet with the giant of a man who must have been her father.

Adrien blinked a few times as he stared up at the man, suddenly feeling really small under his gaze. "Ah, you must be Adrien!" He said with a wide smile, throwing Adrien completely off guard. "Marinette's told us so much about you already, please, come in! I think she's still getting ready." Tom stepped to the side to let Adrien walk inside. As he did so the guitarist suddenly felt like he was a teenager all over again. So this must be what it felt like to pick up your girlfriend in highschool? Of course Marinette wasn't his girlfriend yet, or maybe she was? That'd be a conversation they'd have to have later.

Adrien followed Tom into their living room, taking a seat on their couch, and as he looked around he suddenly felt very out of place. There he was dressed in dark grey t-shirt with black jeans and a studded leather belt along with his stage boots sitting in one of the most brightest living rooms he's ever seen. He felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb against the soft purple of the walls and the gentle shade of pink on the couch. "Before she get's down here." Tom started, leaning forward to place a massive hand gently on Adrien's shoulder. "I just wanted to thank you. She's told us some of what happened, that you were the one who found them at the warehouse."

The blond stared at the man stunned silent. He could see that Tom wasn't dealing too well with knowing what had happened but watching the appreciation flash through his eyes that Adrien had been there for her was making it easier. "Of course, I…I owe your daughter a lot. She's very important to me, I just wish I could have gotten there sooner." Adrien said quietly with a small nod of his head. Tom dropped his hand with a small smile, there was something else behind that smile but Adrien couldn't place it, and stood up.. "I'll go let her know you're here." He said, clearing his throat a little before heading upstairs.

Adrien let out a small breath, leaning back against the couch and staring up at the ceiling. He was left alone with his thoughts for only a few minutes before the sound of someone coming downstairs pulled him out of his head. He sat up and turned to see Marinette making her way downstairs. She was wearing a green crop top that exposed her shoulders though the sleeves were a little billowy. She paired it with some black, high waisted shorts and high top converse. "Wow…" He muttered with a smile as he looked her over. She had also pulled her hair up into two twin buns on either side of her head but let her bangs run free.

Marinette smiled, blushing a little at his comment, as she stepped off the staircase and stood before him. "You look beautiful, Marinette." He said as he held out the daisies for her. She snickered, her smile widening as she took them. "Adrien, you didn't have to, it's just coffee." He shrugged his shoulders lightly. "I know, that's why I didn't get the whole bouquet. Figured I'd save that for the next date."

"If there is a second date." She teased, playfully nudging him with her shoulder as she moved to the kitchen to get some water. "You wound me, M'Lady." Adrien joked back, placing a hand over his chest. Marinette giggled as she filled up a small vase of water, setting the daisies inside of it before setting them on the counter. Once that was done she moved back to where he had been waiting patiently, her hands clasped behind her back. "Shall we, then?" Adrien nodded, moving towards the front door and opening it up for her. "After you."

They walked to a nearby cafe hand in hand in a comfortable silence, occasionally speaking up whenever something came to mind. For the most part they were just happy to be in each other's company; this time without anything holding them back. When they arrived at the cafe, sitting opposite from each other at an outside table, Marinette spoke up. "Oh, so I've been meaning to ask you, I don't know your last name still." Adrien froze, staring across the table at her with unblinking eyes. It would be such an innocent question for anyone else but he suddenly felt like he had been hiding some terrible secret from her.

He cleared his throat, readjusting himself in his seat. "I was sort of disowned so...I don't really use it anymore." He answered quietly, watching the guilt streak across her face. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up anything bad." She said softly, sinking in her seat a little as she chewed at her bottom lip. "Do you mind me asking what happened?" She asked after a few short moments of silence. "You know, we're supposed to be making happy memories for you, not talking about my depressing past." Adrien teased with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood whilst avoiding this particular topic of conversation.

Marinette rolled her eyes with a smile as their drinks were placed in front of them. She picked up her cup, bringing it to her lips for a sip before she spoke up again. "Can I at least know what it was?" Adrien sat there for a few moments, thinking it over. It wouldn't be so bad if his father hadn't of been her favorite designer. He ran his fingers along the side of his cup before he let out a breath and answered her. "Agreste. My full name is Adrien Agreste." He said with his eyes cast downwards into his drink. They shot back upwards at the sound of Marinette's cup hitting the table harshly, taking in the view of her covering her mouth with one hand while the other was still resting on the mug handle.

"Adrien Agreste as in Gabriel Agreste's son?" She asked quietly, hand never leaving her lips. Pursing his lips together he nodded his head a few times as his eyes once again stared into his drink. Don't cappuccinos look neat? "Oh my god, so then...when all of the magazines were trying to figure out what happened, that was…?"

"Yup." Adrien muttered, finally lifting his drink up to take a large gulp out of it before setting it back down. Looking back up he saw that Marinette had moved to hold her drink with both hands, staring at them as if she was trying to hold back from asking the most obvious question of what happened. "I'm sorry, I'll stop prying." She said, noticing him staring at her. Adrien straightened up in his seat, reaching over to gently place his hands over hers.

"Again, we're hear to make you happy. If it'll make you happy to know then I'll gladly tell you, but please don't feel bad for asking." He said softly, somehow managing a reassuring smile despite the topic this conversation was sure to lead down. Marinette stared back at him for a brief moment before nodding her head to indicate that she did still very much wanted to know. The rocker leaned back in his seat and took another few sips of his drink before beginning.

"Before I finished middle school my mother passed away and my father didn't handle it very well. At first I reasoned that he became so over protective because he was scared of losing me too, but it devolved really quickly. He became very distant while at the same time controlling every aspect of my life. I never went to a public school after my mother passed, instead being tutored at home, and my father cut off all contact with the friends I had made saying they were bad influences for me. When I wasn't taking one of his lessons then he filled up my free time with photoshoots and modeling gigs just to help further along his brand and his name. The expectations set for me were almost always unreachable so when I did eventually fail the punishments were severe and sometimes he did get violent. To me it felt like I didn't have a father anymore, just a manager. He never told me that I was doing a good job, or said that he loved me, or did anything that a good father should do."

Adrien paused, noticing that he had been staring downwards the entire time that he had been talking. When he looked up Marinette had lifted her feet up into the chair she was sitting in while hugging her knees to her chest, listening intently with the saddest look in her eyes. Damn it this was the opposite of today's goal, not that he expected to clear everything up with one date, but this still defeated the overall goal. Still, he was in this deep, he may as well finish this story so they could move on to something happier.

"Eventually I got tired of it; we had gotten into some fight about my grades in college. Now that I think about it the whole thing was kind of ridiculous but I walked out of the house as he screamed at me that if I left I'd never be allowed back. But I never looked back." The blond blinked as he realized something. "Actually, that was the night I met you. When you pulled me off the platform that was the whole reason I was there in the first place."

"Really?" She asked quietly as she let go of her legs to lower her feet back to the ground. "Mhmm, so I guess it was a good thing that happened, other wise I never would have met you, Princess." He said, trying to end his little sob story on a positive note so hopefully they didn't dwell on anything negative for too long. "There are much better ways to meet someone." She muttered although there was a small hint of a smile on her lips. "Yeah, that's probably true, but I'm still pretty thankful for it."

They fell silent again as the two of them tried to think of something else to talk about and Adrien found it pretty quickly. "So you said that you were really into fashion design and that you wanted to make a career out of it once. Do you think you're going to go after that now?" He asked over his mug before taking a sip. She nodded her head excitedly, trying to speak but remembering she had coffee in her mouth. Quickly she covered her mouth before anything spilled out which caused Adrien to snicker a little to himself. After shooting him a quick glare and swallowing down the rest of her coffee she spoke. "Yes, actually. I'm working on a portfolio to send out to a few companies to see if I can't get an internship maybe or something like that."

Adrien smiled warmly at her. "That's great, Marinette. I'm sure you'll be Paris' top designer in no time." He assured her, smile widening at her blush. The rest of their coffee date proceeded much easier after the more depressing topic of conversation had cleared the table. Adrien was once more floored with how excited Marinette grew as words flowed between them like an unstoppable river. What was more adorable was when she caught herself rambling she'd stop suddenly, apologizing for ranting. Every time he'd happily urge her on while explaining that there was absolutely no need for her to say sorry.

A few hours had passed before they were finally walking back towards the bakery, hand in hand for the second time that day. When they stood next to the front door that lead up into the apartment above both were reluctant to let of the other's hand. "So, do you think I earned that second date?" Adrien asked with a cheeky grin. Marinette smirked, walking her index and middle finger up his torso playfully. "I think so." She teased, about to drop her hand from his chest when he reached up for it and brought it to his lips for a quick kiss against her fingers.

"Just let me know when and where, I promise you I'll be there." He said softly, slowly lowering her hand back down. Marinette gaped at him for a moment, her cheeks a bright scarlet with how sweet he was acting despite the bad boy image he had going for him. "I'll text you later?" She asked, voice almost a whisper as she tried to regain herself. Her eyes flicked down to his lips, then back up to his eyes. Man this scene seemed familiar. He mimicked her, yup this was certainly familiar. There was just something about this version of it that was so much better.

When Adrien leaned down to press his lips against hers, one hand reaching up to gently take hold of the back of her head just at the nape of her neck, and she leaned up to meet him it was just that. It was just an otherworldly kiss that stole Marinette's breath away as she pressed her hands against his chest to steady herself. She was able to happily enjoy the still lingering taste of coffee that moved pleasantly against her lips and the only thing that interrupted it was the growing need for air as the both of them forgot that oxygen was important. There was a small sigh that escaped her as Adrien pulled back but for the sake of maintaining the innocence of his actions he did his best not to dwell on it.

And then he saw it, staring down at her smiling features there were a few specs of light that he had been so desperately missing returning to her eyes. There was a small swell of pride in his chest as he realized that he had started to reforge the constellations he had fallen in love with six years ago. They weren't quite yet as vibrant as the strand of milky way he had once seen but it was a start and he had all the time in the world to watch their beauty grow. "I'll see you soon." He said, taking a step back from her.

She nodded, giving him a quick wave before opening the front door. They both hesitated for a moment longer, exchanging one last quick glance before she finally went inside and he began to make his way home. As he walked an idea came to mind that he knew he wouldn't be too fond of in the future but it had the chance to make Marinette extremely happy and that was all that mattered to him at this point. So he fished his phone out of his pocket before texting Alya.

[Hey, I need you to do me a favor.]  
[Depends, what's up?]  
[When Marinette finishes her portfolio can you snag me a copy without her knowing about?]  
[Possibly, what are you going to do with it?]  
[It's a surprise for her, but I don't want to give anything away just yet because I'm not sure if it'll work.]  
[Alright, yeah, I'll see what I can do.]

* * *

 **A/N:** Okay, so I am REALLY SORRY that I've stopped updating as frequently as I was with this story. I'll admit I had a bit of writer's block/lack of inspiration recently due to some IRL stress but after a much needed vacation I'm back with some new idea. I can't promise I'll be back to every two days but I should be a bit quicker than a chapter a week. ALSO I have a question for you guys. This is something I've been debating since I started this story because I can't decide if it'll be too much or not so I'm leaving it up for you guys to decide: Would you like a sinful chapter between Marinette and Adrien? It is so tempting to go either way with this I literally cannot make up my mind, I need help. So please let me know what you think, and I'll see you soon! XOXO


	10. I Haven't Been the Best of Sons

There were two of them now.

He remembered when he was twelve crying his eyes out when he stood in front of the first one. But he never expected to be near the verge of breaking again as he stood before the second one, silent tears streaking down his face as he gripped Marinette's hand tightly.

So much for that surprise.

 **-oOo-**

A month had passed since Adrien and Marinette went on that first date to the cafe but there had been plenty more since then. There were trips to the movies, a few picnics at some parks, one beach trip which Adrien wasn't all that fond of but he went along anyway because it made her happy and the sundress she wore was too adorable for this world. She along with Alya and Nino also threw him a surprise coming back party on stage when he was finally able to start performing with his band again.

It wasn't until after Marinette finally moved in with Alya that she started to seriously work on her portfolio. She spent a lot of late nights either working on a design or actually putting a few pieces together but the things she'd come up with were out of this world. Adrien would come over often when she got too absorbed usually with take out just to make sure that she didn't forget to eat. They were honestly his favorite nights that he spent with her, usually curled up on her bed quietly playing on his guitar as she ran around with strips of fabric hanging out of her mouth. It was the only place in her room that was out of the way enough for her to move around but even then he'd sometimes find himself suddenly surrounded by fabric.

Watching her work was like he was seeing her completely unmasked so to speak. The way she cutely stuck her tongue out as she delicately embroidered a shirt, or surrounded herself in a mountain of balled up sketch paper trying to perfectly design her next project, or how she'd always manage to prick her finger at least five times stitching fabric together. She was too focused to worry about anything else like how her laugh sounded or if she was rambling too much talking about something she thought he wasn't interested in; side note her laugh was the most beautiful song he's heard and he was always interested in whatever she talked about.

Granted she had opened up around him quite a bit, coming out of her anxiety ridden shell of constantly questioning herself to reveal a surprisingly confident woman. But those completely unfiltered nights were his favorite despite the few words they shared and her true personality came out in her designs. Bold and daring with a passionate flair of whimsy.

Naturally this meant his curse of rotten luck would strike on such a night.

"Ouch!" Marinette hissed, raising her finger to her lips to suck on the finger she had poked with her sewing needle for the tenth time that night. Adrien quietly snickered on the bed, guitar in hand, and it earned him quite the glare from the bluenette that he easily shrugged off with a wide smile. She rolled her eyes at him, quickly going back to work as the rocker's phone started to ring in his pocket. He managed to fish the device out of his pocket but his fingers froze over the screen as he stared down at the number that read out across the screen. Honestly he was surprised he still remembered that number but he was even more surprised that it was actually calling him. How the hell did she find his number?

He took in a deep breath before finally sliding his finger across the screen and raising it up to his ear, "Hey, Nathalie." He said, voice laced with caution. Marinette had looked up from her work when he spoke up, staring at him curiously. She had never heard him talk about anyone with that name before. Everyone in his band was male, their manager was some girl named Juleka who had the sweetest partner in the world, Rose, and Adrien didn't really associate with anyone else. So then who was Nathalie?

Whoever she was and whatever she was telling Adrien wasn't good. Marinette watched his expression as it shifted from shocked confusion, to a quick flash of anger, before falling into sort of sadness she had only seen once before six years ago. That broken, empty look he wore when she had pulled him off that subway platform as if his entire world had just shattered into pieces all around him. Slowly she set down her pencil as he moved his guitar off his lap to rest next to him, leaning forward to rest his head in his free hand which was propped up against his knee.

"When did he find out?" He asked quietly, voice void of any emotion. "A year ago? And he never…" He trailed off, apparently cut off from whoever was on the other line. "Tomorrow? Yeah, yeah I'll be there. Thank you for telling me, Nathalie. I'll see you tomorrow." He hung up the phone, letting the device drop to the floor as his other hand moved to join the first in cradling his face. There was a very long silence that seemed to make the air in the room grow uncomfortably heavy before Marinette noticed that his shoulders were shaking.

"Adrien?" She asked quietly as she got up from her chair to walk over towards the bed. The closer she got the sooner she was able to tell that something was seriously wrong as she spotted tears falling past the fingers that covered his eyes. "What happened?" She asked a bit more hurriedly this time, sitting down on the bed next to him as she draped an arm over his shoulders. Adrien was quick to turn himself around, his arms wrapping around her torso as he buried his face in her chest and proceeded to completely break down before her.

"Minou, what's going on?" Marinette asked, worry painted completely over her face as she gently stroked his hair. "My father...he...he's…" Adrien whimpered, unable to really finish the sentence but Marinette was easily able to pick up on what he meant. Despite the fact that this was the last way Adrien thought he'd ever react to news such as this there were so many reasons as to why he was currently sobbing into his girlfriend's chest.

He was distraught because this meant that he literally had no family left and that at 26 he was now an orphan. No, it's not as bad as some, but usually children don't lose their parents until they're much, much older. But that wasn't what was getting to him the most.

It was the fact that their last words to each other had been so hateful and full of malice that it lead to six years of nothing but silence between them. Neither one attempted to contact the other one, try to apologize or fix things, it was just silence. Adrien had hoped that maybe one day they would have been able to patch things up and try to rebuild something. Sure Gabriel wasn't the best father when it came to nurturing or anything else that really dealt with emotion but materialistically he provided everything that Adrien would have needed growing up and then some. He was still family, they couldn't have been estranged forever. But Adrien had been too stubborn to be the one to reach out and initiate such a change. He had wanted his father to be the one to come out and apologize. But now neither one of them had the chance.

Sorrow wasn't the only cause for his tears, either. Adrien was also furious that for the last year Gabriel had known that this day was going to come but instead of telling anyone about he just kept it to himself. Instead of it maybe prompting some kind of reasonable, calm exchange between father and son the son was left to be blindsided with the news of his father's passing. Who in their right mind doesn't tell their child that they're dying of cancer?! Who the hell just doesn't tell anyone and let's their kid find out after the fact that maybe they didn't want their last words to their father be 'Go fuck yourself'?!

"Adrien...I'm so sorry…" Marinette whispered, tightening her hold on Adrien. He clung to her desperately like she was his last lifeline on Earth, grossly weeping onto her shoulders as she attempted to console him.

 **-oOo-**

"Thank you for coming, Adrien." Nathalie said as she held open the front door for the blond. He couldn't really find his voice, instead just nodding quietly at her as he stepped into his old home. Looking around he could tell that nothing had really changed except that maybe things looked a bit dustier than normal. As he followed Nathalie through the house he came to a stop in front of the old portrait of his mother. It was more faded than he remembered, raising a hand up to let his fingers brush against the canvas. The color in her eyes had dimmed and her hair lacked the honey warmth it once carried.

"Adrien?" Nathalie's voice snapped him out of his daze. He turned to see her standing in a doorway waiting patiently for him. "Sorry." He muttered as he dropped his hand off the portrait, hesitating for just a moment longer before moving to follow Nathalie once again. She lead him towards Gabriel's old office, making her way inside and sitting down at his desk just to immediately start rummaging through some papers. "I'm sorry that we didn't tell you about this sooner, Adrien. It was just that Gabriel didn't…"

She paused, looking up from her papers to see that Adrien was still standing in the doorway with one hand resting on the door frame. He had a far off look on his face like he was remembering something; the fight he had with his father to be precise. The woman let out a soft sigh as she set the papers back down on the desk. "He felt incredibly guilty about what happened." She said after a short moment of silence.

Adrien lifted his head up to look at her, eyes a little wide, before it dropped back down as he gave her a half hearted smile. "Sure he did." He muttered, finally stepping into the office to sit at one of the chairs across from Nathalie. "That was why he never said anything afterwards. So much guilt." He spat out as he looked around the office. "He never said anything because he knew you didn't want him to be apart of your life anymore. He was trying to respect your wishes."

"When did I ever say that?" He asked harshly, his attention snapping back to her. "All I wanted was for him to actually tell me I did a good job for once. Maybe even say that he loved me. Hell, just show me any sign that he was my father instead of just my boss. At the very least just an apology, proof he knew what emotions are. I mean, clearly I wasn't that hard to find if you were able to call me to tell me that he was…" He stopped there, falling silent as he sunk into the chair. "Sorry, I just...why did you want me over here?" He asked, quickly changing the subject before he blew up any further.

Nathalie stared at him across the desk with her brows furrowed softly, wearing pained expression on her face. She opened her mouth to say something but decided against it, closing it to clear her throat before looking back down at her papers. "I wanted to go over his will with you." She said. "I'm actually in his will?" Adrien asked, still feeling a bit snippy. "Yes, Adrien, you are." She shot back; it was her turn to blow up a little. "Despite what you think Gabriel never forgave himself for treating you the way he did. He regretted it up until the day he died and all he wanted to do was try and make amends. He thought that when you were ready you'd come back and-"

"So when he found out that he was dying and only had a year to live he didn't think that maybe he should try and reach out to me instead?" Adrien snapped back. "Would you have listened?" Nathalie asked coldly. Adrien blinked, taken aback by her words. "Would you have really listened to him or believed him? Or would you have thought it was just some guilt trip ploy to try and win you back?"

"I…" His voice failed him as he thought the question over. Would he have believed his father? If a year ago his father had found his number and called him...no, it would have been Nathalie calling him, his father doesn't call anyone. If it had been Nathalie then no, he probably wouldn't have believed a single word of it. But on the off chance that it had _actually_ been his father who called him? Probably still… "No, I guess not." Adrien answered quietly.

Silence settled into the room once more before Nathalie finally spoke up. "He left you pretty much everything outside of the company, though he did leave you all of his shares as well." Adrien slowly lifted his head up to look at her as she told him this. "Wait...what?" He asked quietly. "You were the last bit of family he had, Adrien. He still considered you his son even after you left. I agree that he was terrible at showing it to you, pushed you incredibly hard, and got too rough at times. And it wasn't until after you left that he realized what he had done, but he did actually love you."

Adrien squirmed a bit in his seat, not really knowing what to do with this information. His father left him everything? "W-What exactly do you mean by...everything?" He asked quietly. "I mean exactly that. The house and everything inside of it, the money in his bank accounts, his shares over his company, everything. He left the actual ownership of his company to his partner because he assumed you wouldn't want to run it." Nathalie answered calmly. Adrien suddenly felt like he couldn't breath. How...why...the last time he thought about his father Adrien assumed the man still hated him for walking out the way he did. Now here he was sitting in the same office he had stormed out of in a fit of rage being told that he wasn't hated, that it was the exact opposite and that in the sort of last and only act of love Gabriel could do left his son with _everything_ he could possibly give.

"There's one last thing, a letter that he wrote to you." Nathalie said, revealing the sealed envelope from the stack of papers on the desk and handing it over to Adrien. He opened it up slowly, almost afraid of what could be written on it.

 _Adrien,_

 _First, I just want to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how I treated you after your mother passed. I'm sorry that I couldn't prevent her passing in the first place. I'm sorry that I didn't realize what I was doing to you until it was too late. I'm sorry that I forced you out and pushed you so hard. It was wrong of me, the way I acted, and if I could take it all back I could. But, regrettably, life doesn't work that way._

 _I know that leaving you with the estate and everything I own can't even possibly begin to make up for what I've done, but this is all that I can do. I don't expect you to keep or accept any of it, so know that you can do with it what you will. I realize that I probably should have warned you that this day was coming ahead of time. However I didn't want you to think that it was some sick ploy to try and win you back. Please understand that my reluctance to inform you about this was not an act of spite or malice. I did not intend to throw this news upon you so suddenly it just seemed like the best choice of action to go with._

 _I don't expect you to forgive me, nor will I ask for you to. I give this to you selflessly and hope that it can be beneficial for you in some way. Perhaps it will help you further the music career that you've set up for yourself. You're quite the talented musician._

 _I love you, Adrien. I know I never said it and I never showed it, but I do._

 _Gabriel._

This...this was some kind of joke, right? Six years of nothing and this is what he gets? Some sappy letter and a will giving him more money than he knew what to do with? Maybe this was just misplaced aggression but this almost wasn't good enough. He wanted words, an actual voice, to be able to actually see and hear his father say what he wrote down. Instead this just seemed like some half assed attempt to try and make amends. But deep down he knew that wasn't what this was. This was literally the best that Gabriel thought he could do, everything he believed was in his power to do. Even though this wasn't exactly what Adrien had in mind for the day when he and his father would apologize he was at least thankful that he had this.

He set the letter down in his lap, one hand moving up to cover his mouth as he tried to keep himself from breaking down again. Nathalie leaned back in the chair silently, giving him all the time he needed to really process everything. He took in a few shaky breaths before lifting his head up to look at her. "What...what do I do now?" He asked her quietly. Nathalie let out a small sigh, looking down at the desk. "Whatever you want. No one is really expecting you to suddenly move back in." Adrien shook his head. He couldn't, not now. He'd probably end up selling the house and everything in it.

"When is the funeral?" Adrien asked after a moment. "Next week. I'm pretty sure the only one's who are going to be in attendance are a few of his business partners and myself. Naturally we'd like you there but you don't have to-"

"I'll go. Just...don't expect me to give some kind of speech. I don't think I can." He said. She nodded quietly at him, remaining silent for a minute before speaking up again. "I'll arrange to have everything transferred over to your name, try and make the process as seamless as possible." She said softly. "Thank you, Nathalie." Adrien said, offering her a very weak smile. She stood up from the desk, walking around it to stand before him, and leaned over to hug him. "I'm sorry that it happened like this, Adrien. I know you probably wanted to be able to talk in person one last time. I'm sorry we didn't tell you."

Adrien shook his head a little as he returned her hug. "It's not your fault." He managed, burying his head in her shoulder.

 **-oOo-**

A week later he attended the funeral with Marinette, she hadn't really left his side since he'd gotten the news. He probably wouldn't have made it as well as he had without her. During the week Nathalie had kept true to her words, visiting Adrien a few times to go over and sign the proper paperwork needed to smooth over the transition. She had also helped him get the house ready for sale, hiring a crew to clean it up, and a realtor to list it. The only thing he had done was pull down the portrait of his mother, setting it up in his apartment for now though it felt kind of odd to him. He just knew he didn't want it being sold with the rest of the manion.

It was a short ceremony, and Nathalie was right in saying that the only other people who came were just a few of his father's business partners, herself, and the Gorilla. A few came over to give him their condolences but for the most part everyone kept to themselves and left quickly after it was over. After a while it was just him and Marinette standing over the still open grave, Adrien eyes transfixed on the closed casket resting inside.

Marinette rested her head on his shoulder, holding his hand tightly while her other hand came up to gently run over his arm. "How're you doing?" She asked quietly. He let out a small sigh, leaning his head to rest on top of hers as he free hand came up to join the one on his arm. "I'm alright. I just...I can't believe that this last week as even been real." He muttered. "I'm half expecting that I'm going to wake up tomorrow and find out that none of this actually happened." He said.

Marinette lifted her head up to kiss his shoulder, giving his hand a small squeeze. "Come on, let's get you home." She said softly. He glanced over at her, offering a small nod before sparing one last glance at the grave. He said a silent goodbye before the two of them finally left, heading back to his apartment.

* * *

 **A/N:** I don't deserve you guys. . I am so sorry that this took so long for me to post. We had lost the other baker at work so I went about two and half weeks without a day off before we finally got a new guy to train. But thank you guys so much for sticking with this story for as long as you have! No it's not over yet I just really needed to tell you guys that I'm very thankful for all the support! I can't believe how many followers this story has! You are all wonderful and I'm sorry this chapter is sad, the next one will be happy. It will also probably be the last one. ALSO! I made a tumblr page/blog to post all of my writing. If you're interested you guys can follow it and I'll give you guys updates and well as chapter/story teasers! I already have a few other stories in the works. I intend to just flood you guys with writing now that I'm back to my normal work schedule. The account is called upsidedownwrites and the page is called RAYDAK. I LOVE YOU GUYS! XOXO


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